Past Lives, Past Mistakes
by allconspirer
Summary: Ok this is my first serious NarutoHinata story. In a past life Hinata and Naruto are killed, many years later they get another chance at love but enemies from their past lives get in the way. Rated for a little language and other adult themes.
1. The past

I have had the idea of doing an original NaruHina for sometime but I've been insanely busy with coursework and other fanfics but I finally started! This will be slow on the update but the chapters will be long…ish! I make no promises!

I will be updating my other fic soon but this one is one I really wanted to write!

Ok this idea has probably been done before but I have to say this is totally mine and if it bears any similarity to anyone else's fanfic it is totally by mistake.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Naruto watched helplessly as Hinata knelt before the executioner, he was being held back by his uncles guards, he fought desperately to get closer but to no avail. Naruto's three cousins Gaara, Kankouro and Temari stood away from the crowd of guards keeping a tight hold on Hinata's sister, Hanabi, who had made the declaration more than once that she was going to 'do something'.

He had never before really believed the stories of how cruel his uncle was, he had believed in part that there had to be a way around the stoic man. All these years of wondering why there were so many awful rumours about his uncle but never quite believing they could all be true. Now he knew, there was no justice in this place, there was no hope or laws for the common good. There was just his uncle and his corrupt council.

"NO! Please I beg you, I'll do anything…, anything…" Naruto pleaded with his stern uncle but to no avail, the man gave him a cold glare before turning and nodding to the man holding the axe.

-*-*-

They say your life passes before your eyes when you die and the same was true for Hinata and Naruto, he may not have been dying but as he watched his love he began to remember all that had happened in his life up until this moment.

Hinata saw her formative years in a blur, at the age of five her sister had been born killing her mother in the process, from then on her childhood was rough and painful. The death of her mother took her father hard and he took to drinking blaming her new sister for what had happened. They had never been rich but now her father never worked meals were scraped together from practically nothing.

At the age of only thirteen she had been a timid shy young thing but she had a survivalists edge that people recognised. She was good and kind but things were still tough, luckily she had been 'employed' by the mayors family as a cleaner, it was rough work but she had performed her tasks gratefully wanting only to support her sister and keep her safe. The family were known as a bad lot but she was paid well enough and as long as Hanabi was happy she was too.

At first this job had been a dream come true but as the years went by she soon realised that she was little more than a slave and while she didn't mind that, her fear of the people she worked for became a daily worry. The council that met here were all powerful in this region and one word from the mayor could end with her dead and no one would ever question it. The mayor had three children, all spoiled but surprisingly enough they weren't ever cruel to the staff. It was in her third year at the house when the mayors nephew had become part of the household and rumours abounded as to who and what he was exactly. There were cruel rumours about him but while these rumours were currently just gossip Hinata like the others didn't exactly want to be the one to prove them real!

Naruto remembered his own childhood with two loving parents, he had been happy enough but then his parents had argued with his uncle. He had been a child, too young to question what had really happened but they had left the town where he had grown up. He understood a little more now why they had walked away, he knew now that the argument had been with the way his uncle ran the country but at the time he had been oblivious.

The death of his parents had hit him hard. No one ever discovered what had actually happened, there had been some suspicion of Naruto himself but his uncle had swooped down and immediately the questions faded away. At only sixteen he had been unsure of what he would do when his parents died and had been more than willing to follow his uncle back to a town he remembered and a house full of evident comfort.

The house had been stiff and formal but he enjoyed spending time with his young cousins and he never had any housework to do. He often found himself giving silly commands to the maids or servants only to discover that they would immediately obey. It felt nice to be so powerful, he occasionally abused said power but at heart he was still the good person that his parents had raised.

So it was that one particularly exhausting day a few months after Naruto had come to live with the mayor when an unwell Hinata had collapsed while working he decided to do something. The poor girl had awoken hours later to find herself laid on one of the many beds that it was her job to make. Obviously terrified she had tried to sit up only to find the room begin to spin.

"Hey there lay back down" a kind voice had told her "don't worry…"

"T-trouble" she had forced herself to stutter out the word

"No ones in any trouble I promise" the voice told her again "just rest"

Hours later when she had finally caught up on her sleep she sat up rubbing her eyes and looking around curiously. She soon recognised where she was and one very eloquent thought came to mind.

"Oh shit fuckity fuck fuck!"

"Wow we have a 'shit fuckity fuck fuck' situation" the gentle voice from earlier laughed "there hasn't been one of those since the shit fuckity fuck fuck riot over fifty years ago."

"You don't understand this is Naruto's room if he…" Hinata turned to see her attractive helper sitting smiling wickedly at her "…happens to be sitting in a chair opposite me… I say again shit fuckity fuck fuck."

Another laugh only this one louder was the only response she got as Naruto stood and walked over to her side. Sitting on the bed he pressed a hand to her forehead "you're very warm" he commented concernedly.

Blushing Hinata tried to keep conscious as Naruto stared at her "I haven't been too well recently"

"You should stay in bed till you're better"

Hinata laughed, and once she had started she couldn't stop. The idea that she could somehow just miss work and stay in bed was so funny it made her sides hurt. This guy probably thought she had a bed of her own to start with.

Naruto wasn't sure what he had said that was so amusing but one thing he did know was that this girl was laughing at him. Grabbing her by the shoulders he held her still saying in a chilling voice "And just what is so funny?"

For some reason, maybe she was brave or just plain delirious Hinata refused to let herself be scared by this guy, there were stories about him, tales that he raped girls from his previous hometown only to kill them so no one would never know and no one ever questioned because of their fear. His uncle had been known to kill a man merely because his meat had tasted 'different' the whole family was terrifying to a poor girl like herself.

"You think I can just take a day off? I miss a day here and I lose my job, I have a sister to care for you know"

"Oh" Naruto let her go, her eyes were strange, pale and kind of eerie looking, her tone was like burning ice as she responded "I guess it was a stupid thing to say" he turned back to look at her "will someone have noticed that your jobs weren't done today?"

"Yes" she nodded sadly

"Good thing I told one of the maids that I had decided I wanted someone to totally re-tidy my room and made some dark haired maid do it" Naruto told her grinning a little

Her eyes stared into his with disconcerting analysis "You. You did that? Why?"

"I just felt bad for you" that was partly the truth, in fact it had been partly an interest in her, her looks. She was oddly pretty with her midnight blue hair and pale skin, she was cleaner than other maids, in fact she was cleaner than most people in general. He liked to bath and insisted his cousins did too but most people didn't care for it and rarely did so. They lived in a desert environment and water could be hard to come by. Despite her worn grey clothes she and her skin had been almost glowing as he picked her up, her skin was soft and her scent…it was heavenly. How did a girl like this end up being a maid? If his uncle had ever discovered her she would have probably have been either added to his harem.

"You do realise that they'll all think…" Hinata stopped what she was saying blushing "Never mind"

"What will they think?" Naruto asked grinning lecherously, he knew exactly what was thought of him by the staff, it wasn't true… well most of it wasn't… he got closer to her, as he moved she started to pull away but she was trapped by the covers and all she could do to move away was lean back onto the pillows.

'Perfect' Naruto grinned as he lowered his lips gently onto hers and very gently kissed her.

As a servant and sole carer for Hanabi, Hinata had not been allowed the company of men that most girls enjoy and this small show was enough to terrify and completely excite her, blushing redder than she had ever thought possible she proceeded to pass out.

Naruto grinned as he looked down at the girls face, while she was unconscious her bright blush faded quickly back to her pale silvery skin. He watched her carefully, waiting until her dark lashes fluttered open to reveal her lavender coloured eyes. Immediately the embarrassment returned and a rosy colour tinged her cheeks.

"Hello" Naruto grinned widely

"H-hello" 'damn it where had that stutter come from?'

"Last time you woke up your first words were a little more colourful"

"Yes well…" Hinata tried to regain her composure but it was damn hard when he was smiling at her like that. It made her feel grown up and immature at the same time, and she wasn't even sure that was possible. Shaking herself internally she forced herself to stare directly back at the man who was so rudely accosting her "W-would you let me get up?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Well it's not everyday I get a woman as beautiful as you in my bed and I'm not very willing to let you go"

"B… b-beautiful?" Hinata asked feeling foolish "Y-you think I'm b-beautiful?"

"Very" Naruto took her hand and raising it to his lips kissed it gently "may I know the name of my charming companion?"

Too surprised by his actions to do anything but respond the young girl blushed "Hinata"

"Hinata-chan" Naruto said happily, lifting his free hand and running it through her hair, he watched as his fingers moved through the beautiful inky blackness, he then returned his gaze to her amazing eyes. "Has no one ever told you that you are beautiful?"

"N-no" she was trembling now. Awash with new sensations and emotions Hinata could feel her body ready to swoon again but she held still managing to retain consciousness as she gazed into Naruto's own awe inspiring eyes. Deep inside a part of her wanted him to kiss her again but that smart and cautious side knew that it would be a bad idea. Damn her smart cautious side!!

As if reading her thoughts Naruto smiled saying "I'm going to kiss you now, don't go fainting on me again."

His lips were soft and warm, his arms pulled her tight against him and her own slowly snaked their way around his neck. She knew she ought to push him away, hell even the most sluttish girls in the area didn't just kiss a guy the first time they met. But oh he felt sooooo good. Once upon a time she had been quite judgemental of girls wondering why they said things like 'you can't help who you fall in love with' or 'I got caught up in the passion of the moment' now she understood. His tongue had gently pushed past her lips massaging inside her mouth in a glorious way.

In her sensible mind, the one that just had to rear it's ugly head she told herself to push him away but the sixteen year old inside wanted more, in the end she supposed that it was obvious which side of her would win. Her hormones took over, the pure lust that Naruto made her feel became unbearable and she gave in completely.

From that day on whenever Naruto found her working near his room she would find herself dragged inside and eventually thrown onto the nearest flat surface.

They each knew it would end badly.

He was destined to marry a princess of an allied town, one day he could have a harem like his uncle's but that would be years after his original marriage, an heir would have to be born first, and most difficult of all Hinata had made it clear she wouldn't be a part of that. She had a dream of a family of her own, of marriage to man that would work at a job enough to pay for herself and their eventual children, maybe they would Hanabi to move in. For herself to one day finish working, for Hanabi to be provided with a job good enough that she too would have time for a husband and all that could not be done by becoming just another 'royal whore' as they were called in the real world.

Unfortunately Naruto had quickly become an addiction that she craved constantly. She found herself thinking about him every moment and it sometimes drove her crazy how infatuated she was. She told him things she had never told anyone before, her fears her hopes, how much she missed her mother, how much she should hate her father. For some reason talking to him was easy. They would lie together after their passionate activities holding each other and talking easily, words would just spill from her mouth and he would entrust to her his deepest secrets.

Her language was rougher than his, as was to be expected from the lower classes but Naruto adored her bluntness, it gave her a feisty edge. She was very easy to embarrass and because of her pale skin her blush was very obvious. Truth be told everything about Hinata had been attractive to Naruto. He and she both thought that their mutual attraction would end in mere weeks but even when Naruto had been living their for almost a year they were still together. When they both realised that they had been together for almost nine months they were shocked. Time really flies when your having fun!

Nine months was long enough to create a human life for healthy existence in the real world.

Of course they were both relieved that hadn't happened.

They spent as much time together as was possible but it never any real length of time, she had work to do and it would be noticed if he spent all his time in his room away from his newly discovered family. Still he liked being with Hinata, she was intelligent, funny, kind and caring. She had strong views on the way his uncle treated his people but Naruto often shrugged them off changing the subject, he found it hard to believe it was as bad as she said, there was a justice system and his uncle was cruel yes but he was not the dictator she seemed to think him.

She also liked to talk about her family and her hopes for the future, it always bugged Naruto that her plans for her life never seemed to include him. Of course when he thought about his own future he knew she had no part in it. His marriage was only two years away but he had recognised long ago that even if her did begin a harem of his own he could never ask Hinata to be a part of it, she deserved better.

He kept on telling himself that he was going to let her move on and live her life. Occasionally the idea entered his head that he could easily give her money and get her to leave this job, that way she would be able to find someone else, begin her life again but that idea angered him. He didn't want her to find someone else he wanted her to be his. In any other situation it would be an option but they both knew it would end… one day.

Just not yet.

Not yet.

--

Then she remembered the day it all changed, Hinata had just finished sweeping one of the long corridors and she looked up to find herself facing the man that terrified her and most of the staff. He had stared at her long and hard smirking before reaching for her hair. Instinctively she had backed away, he had laughed before turning to the man behind him.

"Add her" was his only comment before moving away.

Hinata had soon found herself taken from her duties, she stood or sat as a group of female maids bathed and scrubbed at her but thy seemed pleasantly surprised that she didn't need too much cleaning. Perfume had been next, a cloud that caught in her throat and made her choke, it gave her a heady overwhelming feeling. Make up had been mainly ignored as she had no blemishes to hide and her pale skin was apparently one of her best features. Her teeth had caused some concern, but the prodding and scrubbing was apparently worth it. Indeed when they were finished with her she was stunned to see the polished metal mirror show a whiter colour than she was used to. Her hair was styled into a twisted knot on top of her head and then the clothes… oh the clothes.

They had pulled out many, many different outfits before settling on a long midnight blue cut low enough at the neck to make any girl blush.

She knew what was coming but knew of nothing she could do, left in a large bedroom she had trembled as she thought about what Naruto's uncle had planned. In desperation she tried the windows and doors unfortunately though she found strong locks and some slightly apologetic guards.

--

Naruto walked through the corridor smiling a little falsely to his cousins, life usually seemed good these days. Ok so he was still living here with his three young cousins but he had a pretty constant source for some happiness. Unfortunately he hadn't seen Hinata today, he guessed that she had gotten stuck in the kitchens, it had happened before but for some reason today he was really missing her. His younger cousins were surprised by his slightly off attitude but they didn't really mind, he was normally happy and he didn't seem too bothered so why question it? Naruto's cousins had long ago discovered what their father was and they severely disapproved with the way he ran their home town but being young there was nothing they could do. They liked Naruto because he brought a cheerful air to the place and he trained with them making all their lessons seem like a game.

"I need to find her" an unusually loud voice sounded but down the hallway making the four of them stop. They looked at each other curiously before running forward to see what was going on.

A young girl with dark blue/black hair stood speaking to the housekeeper.

"I'm sorry, you have been sent money…, your father"

"My father is a bastard, I want to find Hinata"

"Hinata?" Naruto couldn't stop himself, he moved forwards and the girl turned showing him pale almost pupiless eyes so like his lover's that he couldn't question even for a second who she was.

"You know Hinata? I'm her sister…"

"Hanabi" Naruto finished for her nodding "she often speaks of you."

"Cousin how can you know this girl?" Temari looked up at him with curious dark eyes. It was then that the blonde realised his mistake but he shrugged it off, if Hinata hadn't gone home to her sister then something was seriously wrong.

"You" he pointed rudely at the housekeeper "where is she?"

"Sir I cannot…"

"Tell me or I kill you" Naruto threatened his blue eyes icy cold

"She has been added to your uncle's harem, she was initiated last night"

He ran.

He had never run so fast in all his life.

He had never moved so quickly for anyone or anything.

He knew that he was already far to late but he skidded down the halls.

Reaching the large ornate doors he was only momentarily stopped by the two guards outside, only momentarily because they were too afraid to really hurt him and he was too angry to care that his punches were strong enough to break a mans neck.

Entering the main room of the harem he was greeted by a host of beautiful women with curious eyes.

"The new girl, Hinata" he snarled angrily "where is she?"

There was a fearful silence, none of them dared to speak up for fear of recrimination from their ultimate master. Finally one of the older women spoke up pointing in the direction he needed to go. She was one of the braver people in the group and had felt extreme pity for the new girl who hadn't stopped crying since her return.

"Second corridor of the left, third door on the right" as he started off the soft voice told him "the keys in the lock, we had to lock her in."

"Why?" he asked concerned, it wasn't like she could escape from this place with those guards at the door

"To stop her from hurting herself of course"

Fear clutched his heart but he moved in the right direction, he paused as he got to the door but shaking his head turned the key, twisted the handle and entered the room.

She lay on the bed in a long cream nightdress that suited her so much better than the grey uniform he usually saw her in, for a split second he thought she was asleep but then he saw her eyes, they were wide staring at the ceiling. He moved across the room but she didn't seem to notice that there was anyone else present. It wasn't until he rested a knee on the edge of the bed to move closer to her that she did anything, she flinched, pushed his arm away and rolled away sitting on the other side of the bed ready to stand. She hadn't even seen him…

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto whispered tremulously

Whipping around Hinata revealed to Naruto the full extent of what she had been through, there was bruising on the left side of her face, her lip was split and there was a cut on her forehead that had been until now covered by her hair. Seeing her lover Hinata's eyes filled with tears and she began to shake her head.

"G-go" she told him mournfully "please…, leave…, don't look at me" she moved off the bed and sat on the other side out of sight.

Naruto felt his whole being filled with pain as he followed her over the bed, he knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "I should have made you leave this place…., I should have been there to protect you"

"How?" Hinata looked up at him a wry smile on her face "what could either of us have done? If I had wanted to work anywhere else I would have had to see your uncle and the minute that happened I would have been put here… you want to know something weird? Before…, before all this…" Hinata shook her head sorrowfully "…before all this I never thought I was beautiful"

"Oh Hinata-chan" Naruto kissed her forehead one of the few places where she looked uninjured, he placed a hand under her chin making her look at him "you're beautiful in more ways than one, I love you Hinata"

"Don't say that" she hissed angrily covering her ears with her hands, she shook her head and stared down at the ground "you know what I am now, I'm nothing, a mere piece of meat for him to keep or throw away. I have told you so many times this is how it is in this country. His words are law."

"No" Naruto shook his head "there must be a way around this, I will not leave you here"

"Naruto you know the laws, a woman in here can never even speak to any man other than your uncle on pain of…"

"Death" the final word was spoken by neither of the two lovers sitting on the floor, it had instead come from the doorway where Naruto's uncle stood gazing angrily at the young couple.

-*-*-

The axe swung through the air and Hinata kept her focus on Naruto in her last seconds of life. He had made her feel loved and happy in a way that no one else ever had before.

Her head fell.

Her body followed.

Naruto dropped to his knees.

There was an agonised scream from Hanabi

Temari wrapped her arms around herself bowing her head from the sight

Cursing under his breath Kankouro moved to his sister and stood so she could no longer see the awful sight

Gaara kept his arms around Hanabi as her body shook with violent sobs, he held her watching his father as he turned to face them.

"You see" the mayor said coldly "you all see. This is what happens to those who do not obey, to those who try to fight against me. This will not happen again."

With that the small group of five were left alone with the body. None of them could bear to look at the decapitated girl. It was a horrific sight, finally Gaara moved forward and kneeling he took out a small knife and cut at the dark hair. Then pulling off his long coat he covered both body and head. Turning he walked to Hanabi holding out one of the locks of dark hair he had cut, she accepted it gratefully tucking it inside her jacket pocket. Gaara then made his way over to Naruto and handed him an identical lock of hair. The blonde accepted the hair clutching it in his hand, he then still holding the dark strands made his way towards the body. Slipping the lock of hair into his pocket he dipped his hand into the blood that had sprayed across the floor, shaping his hand into a fist he turned in the direction his uncle had left in.

"I swear I shall return, and I shall avenge her."

--

"Where are we going Naruto?" Naruto looked down at his young cousins smiling with a sad confidence. He glanced back briefly to look at the sleeping Hanabi on his back

"Hinata often told me about a cousin of hers, Neji" he sighed as he remembered the conversation with his late lover. Part of him just didn't want to believe that she was gone but she was. Never again would he sit and just talk with her, telling her his problems and smiling as she offered a simple logical solution to his worry. He sighed "Hanabi meant the world to her, I need to take her somewhere safe before I…"

"Before you what?" Temari asked curiously tilting her head to one side

"He's going to kill father" Gaara shrugged unconcernedly "that's why he's making us come too."

There was a long silence as Temari and Kankouro processed this new information.

"Naruto?" Temari stopped to gaze at her cousin

"You can't ask me not to" Naruto hissed unhappily as he too stopped "you saw what he did, you know…"

"I'm not going to ask you not to" Temari cut in quickly "Just be careful, he has many guards protecting him. I do not want you to die."

Naruto nodded to the young girl he had often considered more a sister than a cousin "I will see you again, after I have brought down your father and his entire council. There are groups of rebels against him, if I join them I will be able to help. I will make them pay. I promise and you know me" he grinned at the three siblings watching him "I never go back on my word"

-*-*-

True to his word Naruto did bring down his uncle and the council but his reunion with his cousins was not a happy one. He was heavily injured, Temari, Gaara and Kankouro returned in time to say goodbye to the blonde but there was little time to say too much more.

"The city will be moving further into the desert" Gaara told Naruto sadly "the destruction here is too great, the damage to the earth and water supplies mean we will not be able to populate this place again for many years."

"Have they chosen a site?"

"Not yet, we will travel around for a bit before we settle. We have been asked as relatives of yours to help run this place" Kankouro laughed casually as usual "I don't know what they expect us to do"

"You lead them" Naruto said with a grin "Gaara, you will help the administration, you have been training for it for years, just make sure it's fair this time. Kankouro you will help train others, you are a strong fighter. Most importantly you will help people to learn to fight in defence only. Temari, you are a strategist, all those strategy games we've played since I got here and you always win, your intelligence will be invaluable. You three will become the leaders of a brand new nation"

He grinned at the three of them, just over their shoulders though he could see two figures both with long dark hair and eyes that practically glowed.

"You are a hero" Temari told him as he lay in his hospital bed "you have changed this town and all that happened around it. They speak about building temples and monuments to you…"

"I am not the hero" Naruto shook his head "I am merely a man who was shown the way by someone with more love than I ever knew was possible. If there are any monuments built to the heroes of this war remember that she was the first to fall.. You should be proud of all Hinata did in her lifetime."

"We are" Neji nodded as he stepped forward "Hinata will be remembered with the love and recognition she deserves."

"Do we know where she is buried?" Naruto asked looking over the group

"One of the guards buried her near out mother" Hanabi spoke quietly "it's unmarked with Hinata's name but my mothers name is there."

"Then I have a request" Naruto bowed his head humbly "bury me beside her. With this at my heart" he pulled out the long strands of hair that he had sealed carefully into a glass pendant.

"We shall" Hanabi bowed respectfully as she spoke "I know it ended in the worst possible way but you made her happy, and trust me when I say that meant a lot to her."

"Maybe one day" Naruto sighed as he looked at the young girl "in another lifetime, she and I will get that chance again"

* * *

Obviously next time we see Naruto and Hinata it will be in that next life, living as shinobi in Konoha. I put the sand shinobi as his cousins because I wanted a family group that don't live in Konoha. The story has an odd plot consisting of cults and very dangerous situations and some light fluff for my two favourite characters!!

--

Sneak peek at chapter two.

--

Stepping gingerly around crumbled statues Hinata carried one of the burning branches as they investigated the old ruin. It looked to have been a temple once upon a time but years of sandstorms had eroded the stone and eventually covered the entire building

"Byakugan" Looking around Hinata nodded happily before she turned to call back "Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, it looks sound enough, but you better not bring Akamaru. I think the structure is solid against whatever we may do but Akamaru is a whole different matter."

"Good" Kiba bound into the darkened hallway where Hinata stood carrying his own torch, "I was a little worried about letting you in here alone"

"I was f-fine Kiba-kun"

"Oh g-goo" Kiba responded but stopped as he saw something surprising. "Shit! Shino get in here and see this… " Hinata stared surprised at Kiba and was about to move when he held up a hand "Hinata stay right where you are!"

A little nervous Hinata did as Kiba told her standing where she was holding her fiery torch above her head and waiting for Kiba to allow her to move.

Shino entered removing his dark glasses so he could see clearly in the gloomy rooms, he glared at Kiba muttering "you know we have a mission to… Damn!" for once the calm Shino was stunned and he showed it.

"What?" Hinata asked loudly as she stared back at her team mates

"Turn around" Shino muttered

Slowly nervously Hinata turned, upon seeing what had captured their attention she gasped dropping the burning branch at her feet.

"Oh my god."

--

Ok well I would love some reviews but I will be carrying on with this fic regardless. I would like some constructive criticism though. Spelling that seems off, continuity problems or just a quick simple whether or not you think this will be a good fic.


	2. The present

Just for the record, in this story they are all The rookie nine are all aged seventeen/eighteen and everyone else's ages fit around as per the manga/anime. Sasuke is here just because I like him as a rival/friend for Naruto, no one ever mentions his time away with Orochimaru or how he got back… actually it's like he never left but we still have Sai I just think he's funny! I may even be using Orochimaru as the bad guy in this.

Thank you for reviewing and I've taken any and all criticism into consideration!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

"Damn that was close" Naruto whispered to himself as he ducked out of sight, breathing heavily he tried to work out where the enemy was but couldn't detect anything. They were hiding their chakra somehow, they made no movements so there were no footsteps or rustling of clothing that he could follow.

He was going to have to get up and look.

A stealthily as possible he moved from his former position and slowly slipped left, this way when he looked up he wouldn't be where he was before. He reasoned to himself that if he was careful then his opponent wouldn't know where to attack.

Taking a deep breath he placed his hands flat on the ground and slowly looked up over his line of defence

Immediately a sharp implement flew towards Naruto's head

Yelling the blonde ducked down but this time his attacker didn't wait for him, she came charging at him screeching angrily and holding broken bottle in one hand. He shouted again as the broken bottle came slashing towards his face and rolled skilfully away.

"Look I keep telling you I was just doing what I had to!" Naruto yelled trying to dissuade the crazy attacker.

"And I keep telling you Naruto that you need to start acting your age a little more!" Tsunade sounded more exasperated than usual as she finally managed to grab him. She picked him up swiftly and shook him so that his head bobbed back and forwards.

"How come every time something like this happens it's just after I tell the council how much I respect all you've done?" dropping the boy Tsunade threw her broken bottle across the room and stood around behind her desk. Energy momentarily spent she flopped down on her chair, she pinched the bridge of her nose inhaling sharply.

"Naruto you'll be the death of me one day"

"Look the guy had it coming…" Naruto reasoned realising that her anger had abated and now she was getting into the 'I'm so disappointed in you' guilt trip. He brushed himself off and looked around at the messy office, slowly (because the guilt trip was working) Naruto started picking up bits of broken sake bottles.

"Naruto if you ever want to be Hokage then you're going to have to learn to get along with the elders and council members."

"I'm not the one that makes those nasty comments under my breath, when I say a thing I say it out loud" Naruto picked up a couple of the scrolls that had been flung at him and replaced them on the desk.

Tsunade smiled understandingly saying softly "Yes and that's the problem! Sometimes you need to just let those comments go…"

A knock at the door interrupted their argument and both Naruto and Tsunade yelled commandingly "Come in!" This of course sparked another argument between the two.

"It's my door I say who comes in!"

Immediately her soft mood was gone Man could that woman mood swing! "It was a slip of the tongue and it will be my door one day!" Naruto yelled defensively.

"Naruto! I swear to God…!"

This development of course meant that the person who had knocked entered to discover two severely angry ninja. After a few moments of throat clearing Shizune who had followed walked over to the sideboard where a jug of water stood, she calmly picked it up and the proceeded to dash the water over the two hot headed fighters.

"Shizune!!!"

"There is an urgent message from Suna, it arrived by carrier bird a few moments ago" the dark haired woman spoke quickly and she pushed the hesitant message bearer forward. The man walked forward hesitantly holding out a small scroll. Unlike herself not everyone felt confident in dealing with a Hokage bickering childishly with the village's demon vessel.

"Thank you" Tsunade spoke politely as she took the scroll and opened it out

"What's going on Tsunade?" Naruto asked as he watched the blonde woman's face became serious

"There's been an attack in Suna, nothing bad but there have been many casualties and several important artefacts were stolen."

"Is Gaara OK?" Naruto asked worried about his friend.

"He's fine, the only people that got hurt were guards but there had been at least two deaths. He's asking for help in recovering the artefacts, investigating the case and help at the hospital, apparently they used a poison…. SHIZUNE!"

"I'm right here Lady Tsunade, there's no need to yell" Surprisingly patient Shizune stood ready to take her orders

"Go get me Sakura" Shizune bowed and left the room, Tsunade then turned to face Naruto "I'm going to need Shikamaru, it's his day off, do you know where he'll be?"

"Oh yeah!" Naruto nodded before dashing over to the window and leaping from it.

"Anyone would think he didn't know how to use a door" Tsunade muttered as she stood at the window watching him leap across rooftops. Sighing she turned to face the messenger "OK I need you to send a message back to Suna…"

--

"Shikamaru!" Naruto ran swiftly through the town towards where he had left the lazy shinobi only half an hour ago. When he arrived he was surprised to find that Shikamaru was not alone. He was sitting cross legged talking quietly to a very familiar dark haired kunoichi. "Hey Shikamaru, Hi Hinata!"

"Hello, N-Naruto-kun" Hinata immediately flushed a light pink as she welcomed her friend.

"Hey Naruto!" Shikamaru turned to face the blonde looking severely annoyed "Is this important?"

"Yeah Tsunade..." a thought occurred to him as he looked at the blushing girl and pissed off Shikamaru "Hey…! I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"What?" Shikamaru looked at him confused

"Well you and Hinata" Naruto wiggled his pinkie at the two of them laughing jokingly.

Shikamaru took in Hinata's blush and sighed, she had been absolutely fine a moment ago but now Naruto was here she was pink. When she realised that Naruto was suggesting that she was dating him she became redder than a tomato.

"It's none of your business" Shikamaru hissed surprising all three of them.

Still annoyed at the interruption Shikamaru suddenly decided to bait Naruto a little, after all the real context of their conversation was one that Shikamaru did not want made publicly known. He just crossed his arms and glared at Naruto, he like almost everyone else, knew how Hinata felt about Naruto. Unlike almost everyone else Shikamaru had been suspecting for a while that Naruto was taking more than just a friendly interest in Hinata.

While Hinata was pleased that Shikamaru wasn't going to explain to Naruto why she was actually blushing she wasn't sure that she liked the implication that there was something going on. Not that Shikamaru would be a bad guy to date she reasoned internally, she had a lot of respect for him but she still had it bad for the ever clueless Naruto. She had actually tried dating other people and while it had been nice enough no one ever felt right. Of course she knew why Shikamaru didn't want to say why they were actually here so she let it go.

Truth be told Naruto was actually a little bothered by Shikamaru's comment. He had been joking around like usual expecting the two of them to get angry and yell, or laugh off his comment declaring that they were 'just friends'. Naruto knew how to deal with both of those scenarios, but this one, where they both looked a little awkward was odd. Were they really dating? When had this happened?

"Oh... right" the disconsolate Naruto shook his head remembering why he was here "The old lady wants you to come to the tower. There's an emergency!"

"Damn!" Shikamaru turned to face Hinata "Can we talk more later?"

"Of course, I'll g-go and see what I can do." Hinata bowed politely to them both before running off in the direction of the town. The two young men watched her go one watching and hoping she would be able to help him with his current problem and the other watching how her dark hair rippled out behind her in shiny waves as she went.

"So you and Hinata?" Naruto ventured as he and Shikamaru turned and walked quickly towards the Hokage tower.

"What about it?" Shikamaru responded not even bothering to look at Naruto

"Are you two…" Naruto paused not exactly sure what to say, he wanted to try a subtle approach but he wasn't exactly known for his subtlety. After a long struggle he decided on "Are you dating her?"

Shikamaru was amused by the way Naruto strived with this sentence and decided to tease his friend a little. "What's it to you? Do **you **like her or something?"

"Nothing… it's nothing to me…" Naruto waved his hands in front of him as he vehemently denied being interested in the Hyuga heiress. "It's just… well Hinata… she's a good friend and… I want to know!"

"Well... it's complicated." Shikamaru paused, the truth of why he was hanging out with Hinata was secret but allowing Naruto to think what he currently was could produce an uncomfortable situation. Then again maybe he could help Hinata... "If you don't like her why are you so bothered about it?"

"I'm not" Naruto protested kicking at the dirt as he walked "It's just... well I thought you liked someone else."

"Oh yeah... who?"

"Well... either Temari or Ino"

"Right" Shikamaru nodded understandingly "well I personally think that out of all the Kunoichi in the leaf village... or sand… in fact out of all the ones I know! Hinata is the least work."

"Well yeah but..." Naruto stared at him "you shouldn't just date her cos she isn't **troublesome**. You should date her cos she's sweet and lovely, she's shy but she has a great sense of humour."

"Sounds like someone else wants to date Hinata 'cos she's sweet and lovely'!" Shikamaru raised an amused eyebrow.

"Shut up" Naruto frowned at Shikamaru his anger obvious.

Fighting the urge to laugh Shikamaru merely shrugged lazily "Hey look if you like Hinata there's nothing to stop you from telling her."

"Not even you?" Naruto asked despite himself.

"It's OK" Shikamaru laughed "I think I can cope, you should go for it Naruto, like you said, she's sweet and lovely and she's the only girl not hung up on either of those two idiots on your team"

"Yeah she does seem to be the only girl I now that isn't in either the Sasuke or Sai fan club." Naruto sighed again thinking of the way girls seemed to follow those two around. It wasn't that no one was at all interested in him, he had a few 'fangirls' himself but even they seemed to like Sasuke and Sai to some degree. "And I can't remember her being crazy about Sasuke at school!"

"**I** remember that Hinata liked someone else when we were at school" Shikamaru mumbled watching Naruto carefully

"She did?" Naruto asked cluelessly slowing to a stop as he thought about it. "she never said anything about it."

"She didn't really have to" Shikamaru stopped walking to and stood in front of Naruto "everyone knows about it except the guy she liked of course" Shikamaru walked off slowly hoping that the hint that he personally thought couldn't be more obvious.

"Well I didn't" Naruto muttered as he watched Shikamaru walk off. For some moments he stood trying to work out why that seemed so important. Why did it matter that everyone had known who Hinata's crush was but he hadn't? He was sure that it was important…

Shrugging he ran after Shikamaru eager to find out about the mission to Suna.

He'd figure it out later.

--

Standing in his office with his sister Gaara looked approvingly at the large group of leaf shinobi that Tsunade had sent. He was glad that she was taking this mission seriously. A lot of people wouldn't consider two dead guards and some stolen artefacts to be important but he had tried to make her see how vital it actually was to get this sorted.

"These two teams" Kakashi spoke gently indicating his own team of Sakura, Sai, Sasuke and Naruto and the late Asuma's team Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji "will be here to help you in the village. We have two of our best medical experts to help in the hospitals to analyse the poisons used and the rest of them will check over the site and do what they can to help"

Nodding politely Gaara smiled slightly as Naruto grinned giving him an impromptu thumbs up! The rest of the teams seemed relaxed as they gazed around the office.

"We should head to the hospital now" Sakura decided smiling at Gaara

"If you wish" Gaara nodded and slowly the two teams filed out Naruto yelling a quick 'catch you later' to his old friend.

"We have also brought with us four teams for searching outside the village" Kakashi indicated group of shinobi that had stayed. Unlike the other teams they stood respectfully to attention awaiting orders, Gaara assumed that this had something to do with the importance of the mission. What he didn't know was that Neji had told them all to behave… or else! "Each team has a Hyuga amongst them, this will help to search the areas thoroughly."

"Thank you" Gaara nodded respectfully to Kakashi before casting a glance behind the silver haired man at the groups behind him. There were two Hyuga's with teams that he recognised but the other two he didn't know at all. "Neji, Lady Hinata" he bowed to them

"Kazekage" Hinata bowed and Neji silently followed suit. "This Nana and Kazuhiko and their team's, they are two of the best Byakugan users in the clan. If anyone can find what we need it's them."

"Thank you all for coming" Gaara nodded again "I have spoken with my watchmen and they have managed to establish the general path the thieves went in. I think it would be best if the teams each followed a set route headed in the same direction branching off to search alone at predetermined points. You will be given a full profile on what has been taken and which groups we suspect."

"Of course. Kazekage?" Hinata asked quietly

"Yes"

"As members of my clan will be heading out, I wish to be informed of the importance of the stolen objects. Naturally you don't want the whole world to know what has gone and why it has you so agitated but I would like to know what sort of danger my family are heading into"

With a harsh look Gaara stared at the young woman, she had quite correctly guessed that there was a reason why all this was being taken so seriously. And agitated? He hadn't looked agitated had he? He was known for hiding his emotions. How had she noticed?

"Very well" Gaara walked around his desk and pulled out a folder "this is known as the chalice of the desert flower." Opening out the folder he picked up a picture and showed it to them "It is an important part of our heritage but, there is another reason why it is important. There are many ancient cults based around an old legend from these parts, the chalice was believed to be a sacrificial cup, it is meant to hold the blood of a human sacrifice that will bring about a change in power, the sacrifice will be 'the first to fall'. It is based around an old legend, it would take too much time to tell you the full story now."

"I see" Neji nodded "you fear that with the theft of this cup one of these cults is planning something big..."

"There is more" Gaara interrupted "Many of these cults have followers within the village or have massive congregations in the surrounding areas. I fear that if the cup is used, with the correct sacrifice they may say that it is time for an uprising. I do not think that they would win if they chose to attack, but I do know that in the attempt many would die."

"Correct sacrifice?" Hinata enquired tilting her head to one side "what does that mean exactly?"

Temari spoke up from beside Gaara "As yet we don't know, we have researchers working on it. It's stupid really, we didn't think we had to worry about it, the story has become little more than a fairytale these days!" she shook her head angrily "We will let you know more as soon as we do."

"So we are here to help keep the peace in your country. It is a more dangerous mission than I first thought..." Neji shot a worried look at Hinata before finishing his sentence "It is however a very important mission we will not complain about this. Which routes do you want us to take?"

"Temari has drawn up a series of directions that will cover the area quickly and efficiently. It may take a few days to cover all the ground" he turned to his sister who walked forward with a large map. "These four routes will have places for you to stop, messages have been sent out to the tribes and villages in those areas, you will be welcomed."

"Which way is it least likely that the thieves took?" Neji asked staring down at the map

"Neji" Hinata hissed looking a little angry

"Which one?"

--

The four search teams left Suna heading first in the same direction and then branching off on their own as they reached the start of their appointed route. Team 8 were the first team to branch off and it was not without a little anger on Kiba's part

"I can't believe Neji insisted we go this way" Kiba muttered as they stopped to consult the map properly before heading off.

"We may still find something" Hinata tried to placate the Inuzuka feeling guilty

"Yeah but we should have gone on the more likely routes. Lets face it we're the best tracking and information gathering team in Konoha" Kiba declared as he glared at the departing backs of Neji and the other teams.

"Kiba-kun" Hinata hissed, dropping her head she allowed her hair to fall in front of her blushing face. "It is my fault that Neji is sending us on the route that they were least likely to have taken. He see's it as his job to protect me."

"The bastard should have remembered that before he tried to kill you in the chunin exams"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata glared at her team mate remonstratively. It had become an unspoken rule between herself and Neji that the chunin exams should never be mentioned. Neji never apologised but he didn't need to Hinata forgave him. She had told her two team mates never to mention it as well but Kiba had not been happy to agree to that. He wanted Neji to actually admit how wrong he was.

"If you are quite finished" Shino muttered quietly "I propose that we head off, if we are lucky the search will take no more than three days."

"Yeah and that way we'll be back before that stuck up Hyu..."

"Kiba-kun!"

--

He had been stuck in Suna for only just two days and Naruto was already impatient. He liked missions to have a lot of action but as it was there wasn't a lot to do in Suna. He, Sasuke and Sai spent a lot of time with Chouji and Shikamaru. Sakura and Ino spent a lot of time at the hospital, the attackers had used an as yet unknown poison and despite all they had managed they had lost one guard to it. The two girls had worked almost continuously at the hospital both very determined and after the second day had managed a breakthrough.

Fortunately for the people of Suna the attack hadn't caused a huge amount of damage and it looked like Suna's own workers were ably clearing that up. This of course meant that the leaf unemployed shinobi were assigned simple guard duty to help out. Truth be told Naruto would have preferred to have gone with the other teams, he had been annoyed when he heard they had headed out without a word of farewell

"At least if I was searching I'd be doing something!" he muttered as he returned to the Kazekage's tower to report on another uneventful patrol around the village.

A quiet voice spoke from behind him "Yes but we may yet need you here"

Spinning around Naruto laughed as he greeted his friend "Hey Gaara!"

"Naruto" the kazekage moved forward continuing on to his office, beside him Naruto fell into step with ease.

"So how's it all looking?" Naruto asked cheerfully "I mean man it must be great being Kazekage!"

"It has it's moments" Gaara agreed but there was frustration written very slightly on his face.

Looking at Gaara Naruto felt and urge to ask what he meant but looking around at the various other people in the corridor he decided to leave it and chatted instead about mundane things from back home. It wasn't until the door to Gaara's office was closed behind them that Naruto asked bluntly "Alright, what's wrong?"

Surprised Gaara tilted his head to one side "What do you mean?" he asked gliding smoothly to his chair and sitting.

"When I asked you about being Kage, you just said 'it has it's ups and downs'. What the hell does that mean?" Naruto sat down at the chair facing Gaara and stared at him "What's the problem?"

Chuckling inwardly Gaara allowed a small smirk to grace his features before saying "First that Hyuga now you."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked more confused than ever.

"I think I may be showing emotion, Lady Hinata was able to see my mood before she left and now you've picked up on it."

Relaxing in his chair and sound solemn Naruto just stared at the redhead "Gaara. You're one of my best friends of course I know when you aren't ok. As for Hinata" screwing up his face Naruto thought carefully before answering "she just seems to know when someone needs help, or is feeling bad. She's a great person."

Amused at the slightly off topic remark at the end of Naruto's explanation Gaara gave his friend a quizzical look "She's a great person?"

"Huh?"

"You just ended with 'she's a great person' why did you say that"

"Oh no. I just mean..." covering up his slightly confused mind Naruto shook his head "Anyway I asked you a question first. Now what's up?"

"This is your dream job isn't? I mean not being **Kaze**kage but **Ho**kage!"

"Well… yeah!"

"Because of the respect it commands?"

"That's a big part of it." Naruto admitted scratching the back of his neck bashfully "But I do want to protect the village, maybe help kids like myself if they ever need it."

"Naruto it's a hard job, you rarely get time to yourself, every time anything goes wrong it's on your shoulders whether it's your fault or not. You're responsible for it all. It's exhausting."

"But things don't always go wrong" Naruto softly "Suna has flourished under you"

"And yet there are people still wishing to take over and give the power to someone else."

"But that's so stupid"

"I didn't say it was smart" Gaara sighed again "Most men want to take over the world and humans are rarely satisfied with their lot. I'm sure you've observed that people you would assume should be happy rarely are."

"I guess I have" Naruto nodded "Look at Hinata's family for example, they have family, wealth, respect, and an awesome bloodline limit that many ninja would want and yet they've made it so difficult for themselves. They constantly want more power, more respect. You know I'm happy with so much less. I'm happy to have at least one person believing in me, I have more now but once upon a time, it was just one. I was happy when I had just one person respect me, I'm glad more do now but again, I'd be just happy with him respecting me."

"When you've had as little joy as we have, you become happier with less." Gaara smirked "It just means that we're wiser than everyone else!"

"Yeah right! Me wiser then everyone else?" Naruto laughed "That'll be the day!"

--

Standing on a sand dune with her Byakugan active and her hair waving in the wind a certain Hyuga was trying to understand what she was seeing. "W-well that's odd" Hinata muttered once again scanning the surrounding area

"W-what's odd?" Kiba asked teasingly as he and Shino stood and gazed in the same direction as her.

"Th-there…." Hinata held her breath, counted to ten and began again "There is an unusual rock formation over there, almost like buildings used to be there. Looking around it would appear that long ago, this whole area used to be something else." She smiled at her team mates as she managed her sentence.

Unbeknownst to everyone else Kiba and Shino were determinedly helping Hinata with her stuttering problem. Every time she accidentally stuttered Kiba would tease her or Shino would gently reprimand her. Thus reminded next time she stuttered she would carefully stop and breathe deeply before finally speaking her sentence. She was slowly improving but it was tricky at times, she stuttered the most when she was nervous or angry. Luckily for her Kiba was more than willing to tease someone and he cared enough about Hinata to know when was a bad time to tease and when it would be alright.

"There's nothing on the map" Shino stated slowly

"Well lets check it out!" Kiba announced excitedly

"We have a mission Kiba" Shino reminded him

"Yeah but that's like ten minutes away, we can go check it out and be back on course in less than half an hour. It could be something worth reporting" Kiba finished in a wheedling tone

"What do you think Hinata?" Shino asked turning to the youngest on the team

"I should like to see inside" Hinata decided quickly.

--

They discovered a small opening in the sand, looking in Hinata could see that it became a structure almost like a bunker. Slowly with the use of a rope Akamaru had lowered her down into the abyss, it was difficult to work out how low down they needed to go so Hinata, ended up reaching the floor a little while after they had expected.

"Are you ok?" Kiba yelled in concern as he felt Hinata release herself from the rope they had used

"Yeah, it's really dark but…"

"But what?" Kiba yelled worried that she had stopped speaking because she was hurt.

"There are torches down here, like in the olden days, they're like branches. I'm going to light one"

"Be careful" Shino spoke quietly but Hinata heard and yelled up in compliance. Soon the two males above ground could see a small light.

"She's quite far down" Kiba murmured watching as the light moved around.

"Yes, I should have gone down, with my bugs it's easier to search."

"Yeah but with her Byakugan she can make out the structure around her."

"And if the structure falls before she is done examining it…?" exchanging a glance the two men leant closer to the opening, Kiba keeping his ears sharp and Shino sending in a few bugs.

Totally ignorant of the worries above her Hinata carried one of the burning branches as they investigated the old ruin. It looked to have been a temple once upon a time but years of sandstorms had eroded the stone and eventually covered the entire building

"Byakugan" Looking around Hinata turned to call back "Shino-kun, Kiba-kun, it looks sound enough, but you better not bring Akamaru. I think the structure is solid against whatever we may do."

"We'll need him to help us get back up anyway!" Kiba was soon down and bounding into the darkened hallway where Hinata stood carrying his own torch, they walked slowly waiting for Shino to catch up, soon they were down the hall and had entered a large comparatively empty room with decorative walls. In the centre there was a stone table almost like an altar covered in intricate carvings. "I was a little worried about letting you in here alone" Kiba admitted as he watched Hinata walk across the floor

Smiling at his over-protectiveness Hinata turned "I was f-fine Kiba-kun"

"Oh g-goo" Kiba responded but stopped as he saw something surprising. "Shino get in here and see this… " Hinata stared surprised at Kiba and was about to move when he held up a hand "Hinata stay right where you are!"

A little nervous Hinata did as Kiba told her standing where she was holding her fiery torch above her head and waiting for Kiba to allow her to move.

Shino entered removing his dark glasses so he could see clearly in the gloomy rooms, he glared at Kiba muttering "you know we have a mission to… Damn!" for once the calm Shino was stunned and he showed it.

"What?" Hinata asked loudly as she stared back at her team mates

"Turn around" Shino muttered

Slowly nervously Hinata turned, upon seeing what had captured their attention she gasped dropping the burning branch at her feet.

"Oh my god."

Behind her a large mosaic covered the back wall, standing in the centre stood a young girl around Hinata's own age, her shoulder length midnight blue hair hung around her face and her eyes were not made of tiles like the rest of the pattern but instead seemed to consist of large opal-like stones. She wore a blood red dress patterned in black and her skin was pale, she was kneeling unyielding and determined as she faced a man holding up a large sword ready to let it swing at any moment.

Looking at Hinata was almost tempted to say that it was like looking in a mirror but she decided that, that was stupid. It was like looking at a portrait of herself, not quite identical but the likeness was incredibly striking.

Hinata gazing at the bizarre picture did the only thing Hinata could do.

She fainted.

* * *

I hope it didn't jump around too much!

I'm thinking of making up a character for the bad guy, I think it might be easier than using an actual character. I don't like making good guys bad so this might be like an anime filler episode where they bring in a random bad guy never to be seen or mentioned again.

Ah fillers, you know they mean nothing but you get a guilty enjoyment out of some of them.

What do you all think?

Do you want

A, a unknown -author invented- character (no guarantees for how good he'd be)

B, a character form the series, Orochimaru, Kabuta, etc etc. (could be interesting)

C, something else! (you'll have to tell me what)

Please R&R


	3. The chosen one

Thanks to all of you that reviewed, I'm still kinda new to Naruto stories but hopefully in time I'll get this right!!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

"Hey Shino, she's coming around!" Kiba's voice was unusually hushed as he announced Hinata's awakening to their team-mate.

"What happened?" Hinata asked as she slowly pushed herself up, immediately she was hit by a dizziness that wasn't usual after one of her fainting sessions.

"You fainted" Kiba stated obviously making Hinata laugh out loud.

"I got that bit" Looking around blearily Hinata could make out the canvas above her head indicating that she was inside a tent and not the temple anymore. Hinata lifted one hand to her head and opened her eyes, her surroundings were blurred at first then slowly Kiba looking angry and upset came into view. "Hey!"

"Hey to you!" Kiba lifted a hand and pressed gingerly at her forehead.

"Don't" Hinata shifted under his touch looking very uncomfortable, he was looking more serious than usual as he gazed at her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kiba asked staring at Hinata confusion evident on his face

"Tell you what?" Hinata asked, then she remembered, if she had hit her head then her forehead protector would have had to be taken off.

Reaching up she felt her forehead and realised she was right, her fingers traced along where she knew a light green seal marked her. For three weeks before she was sealed she had worn her forehead protector where it had been intended to be worn. In those weeks she had been more than willing to take it off when people asked. This meant that when she was actually sealed people were used to seeing her with her new look and no one really asked again.

"Kiba I..."

"You could have told us, we would have understood." Shino had joined them now holding out a bowl of soup.

"I know Shino" Hinata bowed her head feeling tearful "Ino told me I was an idiot for not telling you"

"Ino knows?" Kiba asked sounding angry

"She worked it out" Hinata shrugged, "last week there was a party, she wanted to do my hair, when I wouldn't take off my forehead protector she did her mind transfer jutsu and made me. She told me that if I didn't tell you soon she would."

"I still don't get why…" Kiba asked sounding pained

"I thought you'd both think less of me"

"No, not why you didn't tell us, I want to know why you were sealed?"

"Hanabi is considered the better option"

"But…, you're as strong as she is, I've seen you two fight and you win more than she does."

"Kiba you are assuming that strength is the be all and end all to my clan. There is something else they consider important"

"What's that?"

"Superiority" Hinata sighed before chuckling lightly and continuing "I am not proud enough to be a Hyuga. I show my emotions, I get nervous, I put others before myself., I care, I could never be the Hyuga leader they want."

"Who else knows?" Shino asked finally asking something that he'd been wondering since discovering that Ino knew.

"The Hyuga elders, Neji might but I'm not sure, Tsunade, Ino… and now you two."

"No one else?" Kiba was surprised, he would have guessed that some of the other girls in the village would know "What about Kurenai? Or Hanabi?"

"Hanabi doesn't need to know until she is sixteen, my father will tell her when she is ready."

"And Kurenai?"

"I couldn't face her" Hinata did begin crying now "I was **so **angry with myself, after all my hard work, all she did for me and I screw up!"

"You did not 'screw up' Hinata" Shino told her quietly "You do not need to be the leader of your clan to make her proud of you."

"How else can I make her proud?"

"Hinata you wish to become a medic nin right?"

"Yes"

"So do that, Kurenai will be more proud of the student that followed her dreams than the one that had to give up her studies to lead her clan. And just for the record Kiba and I are already proud of you."

"Shino's right" Kiba nodded "We're proud of you, who cares about the Hyuga and all that junk. You're gonna be great!"

"But how can I change the Hyuga if I'm just a branch member?"

"How could you have changed it anyway?"

"I could have made things better for the branch family."

"By taking on the elders and the council?" Kiba asked smirking a little at his painfully shy friend.

Hinata looked at Kiba and then nodded laughing "I got to admit, Hanabi's more likely to be able to hold her own against the council. Hell she'd love doing that kind of stuff."

Deciding that Hinata had cheered up enough Shino knelt down and handed her the soup he had been holding "Here"

"Oh, Thank you… where are we?"

"Just a few metres away from the temple. With you unconscious we decided to set up camp for the night instead of heading into a town"

"Sorry, I guess I'm holding you back again" Hinata felt tears gather in her eyes as she remembered her fathers usual warning before she left for her mission.

"Hey come on!" Kiba scratched his head "After seeing what you did I'm not surprised you passed out, hell I was pretty close myself. That picture was just like you Hinata, shorter hair but… It couldn't have looked more like you unless it was a photograph."

"It was unusual" Shino agreed nodding slowly "It would appear that your ancestors were here once upon a time."

"Well we didn't always live in Konoha" Hinata nodded thoughtfully "There are stories that we were part of an almost nomadic tribe before they met up with first Hokage and agreed to become part of Konoha."

--

Standing with his team-mates Neji carefully scanned the surrounding area, he was being careful to watch out for anything even the least bit suspicious but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Well?" Ten-Ten asked staring at the Hyuga prodigy, he continued to look around seemingly ignoring the girl's question

"Nothing that I can see" he finally responded "however we are close to one of the towns on the map, it is getting late. I suggest we make our way there and find a place to stay."

Surprisingly enough their arrival in the town was not as welcomed as they first thought. They walked through the town receiving nods and gestures of respect, but Ten-Ten noticed several hostile glares from various windows. Glancing at Neji she noticed that his expression was sterner than usual. Not many people would notice the change in Neji but after years of being his team-mate she had learnt to read the stoic man pretty well.

It wasn't until they had settled into their room at a small inn that any of them broached the subject.

"We are not welcome here" Neji spoke quietly scanning around with his Byakugan to make sure no one was listening

"I must admit if it wasn't for the fact that this is the only village for miles I'd suggest we go elsewhere" Ten-Ten nodded pulling some provisions from her bag "we'd be better off eating our own food, we've got plenty"

"I personally think this is a good sign!" Lee smiled as he took a piece of fruit form Ten-Ten

"Are you kidding me?" Ten-Ten asked surprised "I'm not going to sleep well tonight"

"Lee is right" Neji spoke slowly "The only reason they would be so nervous is if they have something to hide."

"Well after three days of travelling and seeing nothing but sand I hope you're right" Ten-Ten spoke decidedly as she handed some food to Neji "I guess this means we won't be sleeping properly tonight then"

"No we won't" Neji paused as he turned to face his team-mates his Byakugan no longer activated "Tonight I will make my way through the village, I will conduct a thorough search, you two will remain here we will stay in touch using radio. If anything happens you two should be able to handle anything they throw at you, as far as I can see there does not appear to be a strong ninja presence in this village."

"Agreed" Ten-Ten nodded approvingly.

"Roger" Lee smiled clearly supportive of the plan.

--

"This is booooring!" Naruto moaned as he picked up yet another scroll and began reading

"You wanted something to do" Temari told him smirking as she sat opposite the obviously displeased Naruto.

"I meant something a little more active"

"This is fine with me" Shikamaru drawled as he studied one of the papers in front of him "Sitting around is easier than doing loads of work."

"It's fine with me too!" agreed Chouji who was happily munching away at the barbequed ribs he had been provided with.

"Well… and I never thought I'd say this, I agree with Naruto" Sasuke looked physically sick as he finished his sentence.

"I can't imagine how much that hurt to say" a familiar female voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to see the two medic nins that had joined them.

"Hey Sakura, Ino, pull up a chair and get reading!" Kankuro commanded as he stood to greet the girls.

"Uh-uh" Temari shook her head, "those two have been doing enough for us at the hospital they need something to eat and then they need sleep."

"I won't argue with that!" Sakura agreed as she and Ino made their way forward and helped themselves to some of the food that was available at the table

"What are you guys doing anyway?" Ino asked as she looked around at the mess of papers and scrolls covering the table.

"Research" Temari told them "One of the cups that was stolen is of historical significance, we don't want to alert too many of the Suna shinobi to it's disappearance so we're getting these guys to help with looking for the information."

"Why can't your own Shinobi know?" Ino asked sitting down between Shikamaru and Chouji.

"It's one of those things" Temari paused thinking how to explain "if it was to become well known that it was gone, people would lose faith in our own ability to win against attacks. The chalice that was stolen is believed to be a sacrificial cup, it is meant to hold the blood of a human sacrifice that will bring about a war. The sacrifice will be 'the first to fall' Gaara fears that if the cup is used, with the correct sacrifice they may say that it is time for an uprising. We don't think that they would win, but there are some people that we don't know who they'd side with. Gaara is respected as a leader but our people are steeped in tradition, we can't risk this becoming a civil war. And the legends attatched to the cup are... specific."

"Specific?" Sakura asked raising one eyebrow.

"They speak of an invincible army, an army so unbeatable that it could destroy any force that tries to stop it. I don't believe the stories but some people might."

"Is that really likely?"

"It's become a religion of sorts, you always get a few religious nuts no matter what. Every religion has it's extremists."

"True" Sakura nodded, she had come across religions in the outer villages and as a result found people not willing to have a shinobi healer. There were often people preferring to trust in more unorthodox medicines that had occasionally been detrimental to their health.

"The important thing is to either get the cup back, or find another way of stopping them. To do that we need to understand all this, if we're lucky we may even find the 'correct sacrifice' before anything happens. Or what else they'll need in order to make the sacrifice work."

"So how would you know who the correct sacrifice is or what else they need?"

"Well the story is an old one" Temari told them "but it comes from old traditions and poetry. They won't stray from the teachings; if they do they'll nullify their acts."

"Poetry?" Naruto asked incredulously

"Naruto years ago when most people didn't know how to read and write story tellers would go from town to town telling their historic stories in the form of poetry. Other people would learn the poems and then go on to tell the stories." Ino told the blond easily "that way history wouldn't get forgotten."

"I guess it makes sense" Naruto nodded looking back down at the paper in his hand.

"So you're looking for this poem in order to know what will happen next."

"Pretty much" Temari nodded "The only problem is we've lost many of the old documents and can't seem to find it amongst this mess."

"Well won't it be anywhere else?" Ino asked picking up one of the scroll "And don't you have any sort of order here?"

"They used to be cross referenced by historical characters but no one knows any of the names from the story. It would be easier if it was referenced by artefacts but I guess we didn't see this being an issue!"

"That's helpful!" Sakura laughed as she helped herself to some ramen

"How do you know it even exists?" Ino asked incredulously

"There's a small history about it in the museum where the cup was stored but the story is one of those ones everyone knows about."

"Yeah like the nine tailed fox attack!" Sakura said quickly "I mean that's the kind of story that will be told forever."

There were nods of agreement from the rest of the Konoha shinobi and none of them seemed to notice the slight shift in emotions form Naruto. The two sand siblings present did become aware of Naruto's facial expression so Kankuro spoke up quickly changing the subject.

"Actually our names come from the story with the cup! Our mother used to read us the poem, it was her favourite, Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, were the founders of one of Suna's first cities that's why our father let us have the names."

"Wait our names are in the story?" Temari asked staring at her clueless brother.

"Yeah, it's from mum's old poetry book upstairs!" Kankuro grinned picking up another scroll

"Wait our names are in the story? **And** there's a book upstairs about it?" Temari was obviously annoyed as she stood to look at her brother properly.

"Yeah" Kankuro nodded smiling not really noticing the killer intent exuding from his sister

"Our names as in historical founders Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara, and there's a poetry book upstairs saying what happened?"

"U-huh" there was another cheerful yet dense nod from the puppet user.

"And you didn't think to mention it until now?" Temari spoke with an icy quietness that made the leaf shinobi slowly edge away from both of the sand siblings.

"No"

"You mean we have all spent hours looking through this junk when we could have researched it by name and found it in minutes."

"Ummm maybe…" Kankuro looked up and realised the mood his sister was now in, smiling nervously he questioned "would me telling you that have made all this easier?"

"Yes!"

"Oh…." Kankuro paused nodding slowly, finally looking up cheerfully he announced "Hey guys guess what I just remembered!"

"IDIOT!!" Temari jumped across the table launching herself at her brother. Kankuro was out of his chair and at the door at amazing speed.

--

Her own radio was easily to hand and tuned up so ready in mere seconds Ten-Ten watched as Neji secured a radio to his neck, on the other side if the room Lee was fiddling with his own personal radio. After a few minutes all thee radios were working with very little feedback..

"You two, we will stay on this frequency unless something happens, like someone else seems to be on that line ok?"

"Which line do we change to if that happens?" Lee asked quickly

"None" Ten-Ten spoke decisively "If someone picks up our signal we can't continue to use the radios, they'll just search the frequencies until they find us again. If we suspect something is up we use the keyword, shut off the radios and meet up at the shrine half a mile out of town."

Both men nodded one smiling the other not (guess which is which), Neji then moved towards the window and activated his Byakugan, looking around he soon picked up a small group of people heading in his direction.

"Are you not leaving?" Lee asked surprised by Neji's pause

"Someone's coming" he hissed and the others nodded understanding, soon they could hear the giggles of a group of friends as they made their way past their window. Neji remained in place looking around, in a few seconds the coast was clear and without turning back to let his team know, Neji was gone.

He moved swiftly through the town keeping in the shadows, he had intended to use the rooftops but there was more lights lit higher up, it was easier to stick to the ground as he tried to travel unnoticed. Fortunately for him the town was quiet, it was a dark night and it appeared that most people were staying in and there were very few patrols compared to Konoha. Still even with Byakugan and in a small quiet town he had a tricky job ahead of him, searching for a cup and a small group of ninja's was not going to be easy. Occasionally at the beginning of his search the voice of one of his team-mates would enquire how he was doing but a mere grunt of response soon made them rethink that. It was easier, knowing Neji and his penchant for clamming up if they bothered him, to just wait until he made contact no matter how impatient they were.

It took a full hour on Neji's part to find anything; he had searched the whole town over and was beginning to think that they had made a mistake when he caught something on the periphery of his vision.

To the north of the town there was an old meeting house, it looked to all intents and purposes as though it was so dilapidated that it was close to falling down. But Neji saw something, he was sure of that.

Moving to the north he soon understood his mistake, in scanning the building he had kept to the surface, looking above ground. It was what was underneath that was important.

Underneath the old building was a small tunnel, it looked to have been built as a means of escape during times of conflict. A small figure was making their way down the tunnel, raising his hand to his neck Neji made contact with his team.

"I'm at the old meeting house in the north of the town, there's a system of tunnels underneath." Moving into the old building he found the entrance to the tunnels and letting himself drop down as quietly as possible started to make his way around.

"How many people are down there?"

"I'm unable to see that right now" Neji sounded a little impatient which was odd for the normally calm ninja.

"Neji what's up?" Ten-Ten asked concerned

"Nothing… I think"

Now there are many things in Ten-Ten's world that are constant, Hinata's crush on a certain blond, said blonds' insatiable love of Ramen, Lee and Gai hugging in a way that makes anyone cringe, Gai and Kakashi's rivalry, her inexplicable need for chocolate after spending too much time with a certain Hyuga team-mate and Neji never sounding unsure.

At least until now.

For the first time in all the time that they had been on a team together Neji sounded irresolute.

"Do you need back-up?" It was Lee that spoke first he was already standing at the window ready to jump through.

"No, I just can't see too far in these tunnels. It's like the walls are re-enforced with something. I don't like this" he admitted though the tenseness in his voice was already showing how nervous he was.

"Perhaps you should get out of there" Ten-Ten suggested "if something happens to you we're too far away to do anything."

"I'm fine" Neji's response was typical as he continued on his way through the absolute rabbits warren following the tunnels that looked like they had been used most recently.

After a while he heard the murmur of voices telling him that he was heading in the right direction, moving as silently as possible Neji moved through the tunnels hoping that no one would head in his direction, if they did he was stuck, there was nowhere to hide.

The voices soon got louder and Neji could tell that any moment now he would find what he had been looking for. Making sure that his radio was on silent Neji edged forward until he came to a large cavern, keeping to the mouth of the cave so that he was out of sight Neji scanned the room properly until he saw it.

The missing artefact was in the centre of the room right where Neji could see it.

Neji and over twenty other men!

It was obviously a gathering of great significance, all the men wore long dark robes with hoods. Something in these caves was making it hard to use the Byakugan, every time he tried to Neji started to feel exhausted. In the centre of the room, by the cup stood a man of obvious seniority. He was talking to the group that stood listening attentively. He was talking quietly and Neji was having trouble hearing, he'd need to get closer.

To be totally honest it looked like a gathering of grim reapers but a quick inspection told Neji that all the men had advanced chakra passageways. Frowning as he looked around Neji had to admit that if a battle were to begin between his team and these men it would not end well. On average when facing a group Ten-Ten could normally take out at least five ANBU level men while he and Lee were on about six to seven each. As it was the numbers were against them, even with careful planning this would be a hard task. Deciding that direct confrontation was impossible Neji decided on simple infiltration.

Masking himself in a genjutsu Neji disguised himself as one of the robed men and walked out to join the group.

"Hundreds of years ago, before Suna or Konoha even existed, before the time of Kazekage's, Raikage's or Hokages we were a people of great strength. Not only that but we were the rulers of all we surveyed."

The crowd murmured approval and several of the hooded heads nodded in agreement. Neji followed suit.

"But people have forgotten this, now there are others who are considered the most powerful. We cannot allow this to continue"

Again the agreement came from the crowd.

"We have the chalice, we will soon find the axe of purgance, and then we shall find our sacrifice. With the sacrifice of the chosen one we will be able to call upon the warriors of old. The man who once ruled over the desert is among us, he is a part of this group even now but it is not until the sacrifice is killed that he will be able to call upon his soldiers of old. He will raise an invincible army that crush all that opposes it." the orator seemed in his element as he shouted enthusiastically to his followers.

"But how do we know we can trust this leader?" a voice cried out

There were a few hesitant supporters of this question and it was all Neji could do not to join in, these people were idiots! If this guy could call upon an invincible army then as soon as the army was raised and he was done with this cult there was no guarantee that he would let them live.

Who was this leader anyway??

"You want proof that we can trust this man? Give me proof that I can trust you!"

'Oh great comeback' Neji thought sarcastically

"As it is we will raise the leader to power and he has promised us a life better than any we can imagine. He has helped us for years and now I cannot think of a better way of repaying him than to allow him to bring us back to our former glory" As the man spoke Neji had to admit that he was a little impressed, he had a certain charisma that made the crowd warm to him. Not only that but he seemed to have them agreeing to everything he said no matter how silly or ambiguous it seemed.

"How can we be sure that now is the time?" another person questioned "we have no knowledge as to whether or not this is really the leader of old or if the chosen one really walks the earth."

"We know because of the prophecy" the speaker spoke again, at the mention of the prophecy a silence fell over the room and most of the hooded figures bowed. "It is said that when a princess comes to rule over leaves once more and the snake winds it's way to hell and back then the chosen one shall return to once more find her love."

More nods and a murmur of voices as people turned to speak with one another.

"We know that both cases are true, a princess rules over leaves and the snake has been killed and has returned to life."

"I agree but surely we need more proof."

"How are we so sure of the snake? How can we be sure he has really returned?"

"You question the fulfilment of the prophecy?" the speaker moved form his place into the centre of the room "You question I, the _divine oracle _named at birth to interpret these prophecies?"

"We have no proof" the man was adamant

"Then I shall prove it. Come forward my lord!"

The speaker turned to face one of the caves to the back, very slowly he lowered himself down on one knee.

A tall figure soon became visible stepping out of the shadows and facing the crowd of trembling robed men.

"Loyal followers" the demonic gleam in his eyes was there as it had always been, one by one the members of the cult bent at the knee and bowed before their demonic leader.

Seeing the man next to him drop to the floor in a genuflection of respect Neji quickly followed suit. He was surprisingly unafraid of his position however he was incredibly aware of how much danger he was in. Now he understood how there could be chakra so powerful down here that it made using Byakugan almost impossible, now he understood the power of persuasion the speaker had held, now he understood why this cult were so sure of their success.

He also understood that he needed to get out of there and fast!

Smiling in a serpentine way Lord Orochimaru looked around at the group loyal followers, gaining power through these idiots would be easy and disposing of them would be even easier. His henchman Kabuto had been clever enough to work out where the chalice was and was even now working on the location of the _Axe of Purgence _and the _Chosen One_. In no time at all he would have an unbeatable killing force at his hands and this time when he descended on Konoha no one would be able to stop him.

Maybe it was because of his complete overconfidence that Orochimaru failed to notice that there was one extra 'loyal follower' present, and luckily for Neji it was for that same reason that he didn't notice as the young man made his escape back down the tunnel and to his team. They needed to warn people and fast!

* * *

Ok this chapter may seem a little dull but there is more action planned in the next two. I decided to use Orochimaru as the bad guy because as a snake summoner there are so many poetic connotations.

The fact that Hinata has been sealed will be important later!

Please R&R


	4. The fairytale

Ok just to clarify in which time frame this is set… Asuma is dead, killed by Pain. The Akatsuki are dead killed by Naruto (mostly without help from anyone else, lets not get picky here, I have seen all the recent manga) and Orochimaru has been killed by Sasuke (and has come back from the dead) and Sasuke has returned to the village. If someone shows up that you think should be dead then just go with the flow.

Any questions any of you have, please review and ask, and any suggestions for a better title, please review and suggest!

I apologise for my terrible poetry, I gave up on song writing years ago because of my inability in this area but there we go! It's more a story than a poem anyway!

* * *

**The first to Fall**

The chosen one,

Facing Sunlight

The warrior prince

Watery Vortex

The tyrant monarch

Imposing Serpent

A life of discontent and great unfairness, that was the life the chosen one led.

Her sister her only light, her father her greatest darkness

A happy smile and kind heart she possessed.

A life of privilege and great comfort, that was the life of the warrior prince.

His family murdered by the one he trusted wholly

An uncaring and ignorant mind was his only fault.

These two would meet and a love that was forbidden,

A love that was stronger than any measure of strength

A passion that rose up completely unintentionally

It was all consuming, they would go to any length

He tried to keep her hidden but her beauty was conspicuous

But still he believed his uncle to be good, he trusted in his ruler

It was bound to happen though, and soon she was found

The king took her for his own to break and abuse her.

The warrior prince was great strong and fast.

But even he could not save her from her fate.

His belief in his uncle's good was gone

Ignoring the rule of the king he went to her side

But what was done could not be undone.

And a sentence of death was issued

The venomous one would try to rip them apart.

He made the girl his own to expend

And with this act the war would start.

The axe of purgeance would be her end

But the warrior prince would not allow her to remain unavenged

He saved her only light her sister

He protected those that were innocent

He saved his only remaining lightHis family saved to fight another day

Because of their love

She was the first to fall

The first to die

But not the last

He called upon the princess of the leaves

The ruler of an oppressed fellow clan

Together they vowed to avenge all the fallen

Together they would send the snake to hell

The bleak and sinister war she began would last a year.

In that time over half the population would perish

Before rosy fingered Dawn appeared on the third day,

The venomous one was killed by the warrior prince

But he did not leave without an arrangement to return.

He called upon the evil shinigami pledging his eternal soul in return for vengeance.

He asked that when the princess once again ruled over leaf and the chosen one returns to find her love.

He too will rise again. The snake himself will return from hell to wreak retribution.

He will summon the wine coloured venom user and with the axe of purgeance, he will sacrifice the chosen one.

Her blood shall be collected in the chalice of the desert bloom And he will rise an army of the dead

He will be invincible

Seeing the tyrannical monarch making his deal the warrior prince made his own promise.

The great and powerful Prince called on heavens goodness and made a plea to the bright eyed Gods that reside there.

When the evil one once more walks the earth he too will return and he has sworn to arise as our vanquisher

He will be gifted with the ability to bring down the evil one before the chosen one is once more stolen from him.

He will wield the globe of azure power and destroy the serpentine man.

He must succeed

And so the warrior prince himself has fallen

His last request to be buried by her side

But in death he left his people in good hands

Gaara of the desert A born leader

Kankuro his brother A lauded warrior

Temari his sister The notable strategist

Together they would create a city in the desert

Together they would remember the love that freed them

Together they would keep alive the warning

Whether or not History will be repeated is something that we mere mortals cannot know, but we implore that the gods smile upon our world humble and undeserving though it be, and we beg that the sins of the past be undone and the doomed lovers re-unite to keep the peace.

* * *

Everyone was silent as Temari finished reading, in her hands lay an old and worn storybook that looked as though it had been made years ago. The cover was red coloured leather and the pages yellow and musty were edged with genuine gold leaf. The writing itself was italicised and illuminated making the simple words part of their own illustration.

"Oh…" Sakura sighed as she looked at the old book "That's actually really sad, does that mean that if they rise up again it's likely they'll die again?"

"No" Temari shook her head "I think the whole warning thing was so that if the chosen one came back we could protect her until the warrior prince can get there to defeat him… I think."

"Well what did those bits at the beginning mean?" Ino asked her head tilted to one side "Facing sunlight? watery vortex?"

"I'm not sure" Temari admitted

"It could be a description" Sai suggested "They use very flowery language like 'rosy fingered dawn' and 'bright eyed gods' maybe there were descriptions of who we need to look for."

"So we need to find people that look or act like they face sunlight, a watery vortex or an imposing serpent" Sasuke sounded derisive as he looked around the room "Well thank god for that I thought this was going to be difficult."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed sarcastically, "I mean all those stupid elaborate words, a name and address would have been a lot better" Naruto muttered "How are we going to find this chosen one, or tell that idiotic prince what's going on without knowing who he is?"

"Idiotic?" Sakura asked turning on her friend, "he sounds amazing, he must have been so brave and handsome." she smiled dreamily towards the end making all the males in the room roll their eyes as they guessed at who she was imagining in the role.

"It's odd" Shikamaru spoke slowly looking at Temari and Kankuro "But you two seem to match the people in the story, Temari you're sister to Gaara and Kankuro and you're a strategist, Kankuro's a fighter and Gaara is a leader…. He's Kage now."

"What are you saying Shika?" Ino asked staring at her team-mate "you've got that look." Chouji nodded in agreement as he shoved another handful of crisps into his mouth.

"I'm just saying, if we can find out what this warrior princes was really called it's very likely that he has the same name."

"So wait. You think that we're… reincarnations of our ancestors? That's ridiculous" Temari scoffed and Kankuro seemed in total agreement

"Why? You think that the _warrior prince _or the _tyrant monarch_ are coming back. What's so ridiculous about other people from the story also returning." Ino argued sticking up for her team-mate "Besides… if you think about it…"

"What?" Temari asked as Ino trailed off

"Well… don't laugh but…. part of the story talks about the princess that ruled over leaf… well we're leaf, and we're run by a princess" Ino shrugged hoping no one was about to make fun of her for saying something stupid.

There was a surprised silence at Ino's sudden burst of logic, after a while Kankuro nodded understandingly and decided to ask "Well… do we have any books that talk about who the prince would be, I think we need to find that prince that can beat the bad guy soon!"

"Well the prince isn't important right now" Shikimaru struck in before Sakura could restart her ramblings "If he dies or we can't find him before the '_tyrannical monarch' _that's no big deal but if they find the chosen one we're screwed."

"Only if they have the stuff they need to make it all work" Sakura pointed out

"Ummm yeah about that… the cup I mentioned earlier" Temari scratched the back of her neck awkwardly "that's the one… the chalice of the desert flower or bloom as it's called here. That's the one that got stolen."

"So they already have one of the main components to raise up their…" Naruto paused as he tilted his head to read "_'Army of the dead'_?"

"Yeah"

"Well where's the axe?" Chouji asked as he raised a fistful of crisps to his mouth

Sakura not really following was surprised by the 'pleasingly plump' boy's question turned to him confused "The axe, what do you mean? …Ew Chouji! Close your mouth!" Chouji had opened his mouth to explain what he meant but had unfortunately forgotten his current masticating situation.

"He means that 'Axe of Purgeance'" Sasuke explained with a shrug "It looks like they'd need that too…" Everyone turned to look questioningly at the two sand siblings who were looking everywhere but at the leaf nin. Sighing the Uchiha moved into Temari's line of vision to ask "…so where is it?"

"Funny story actually" Temari said with a forced chuckle "It was kind of sold… about thirty years ago, we were having a slight budget crisis and a collector with a lot of money was more than willing to buy it. None of the council or leaders believed the story so they…. _**sold it**_." Temari muttered the last bit sounding very embarrassed.

"And for all we know" Kankuro finished scratching his head "it could have been sold to the bad guys."

"A most unwise move on your part" Sai (current king of the understatement) nodded quietly "If the cult do indeed have the axe already and we can safely assume they have the cup then all they will need is the chosen one and if she is a civilian girl she will be totally unable to defend herself when they come after her."

"How do we know for sure they don't have all three?" Sasuke asked

"Because no ones attacked us yet" Temari spoke despondently "ever since that cup went missing we've just been waiting for an attack, we have no way of knowing how far ahead the enemy is."

"Hang on!" Naruto held up a hand looking angry "Does this mean that you've sent Hina…our fellow shinobi… out after these guys and they could be about to raise an army of invincible killers?"

"They know the risks" Temari informed him quietly, she and everyone else had noticed Naruto's slight slip asking about Hinata "we told them all we knew before they left and they were more than happy to go… Of course Neji insisted on Lady Hinata going on the safest route but she could still end up getting more hurt than she would on a regular B or A rank mission"

"Hinata's tough Naruto" Ino comforted the blond placing one hand on his shoulder "She'll be OK"

"Of course she will!" Naruto jerked away from Ino quickly "I know that… what makes you think I'm worried, I mean I am but, I'm just worried about them all…! After all humans we can handle, it's not everyday we face an invincible army or people that can return from the dead."

--

Finally back out in the open air Neji breathed a heavy sigh of relief, he quickly discarded his henge and looked back the way he had come. Part of him was tempted to block off the tunnel that lead into the village so no one could trace him but that could actually do more damage than good. If no one knew that there had been a spy then blocking off the exit would immediately make them aware something was up and there were plenty of other ways to exit the tunnel system.

Shaking his head Neji decided that his best bet would be to return to his team…. Suddenly realising that he hadn't been in touch with the others since he entered the cavern Neji lifted his hand to flick on his radio

"Ten-Ten? Lee?"

"Neji!" A female voice that he recognised but that sounded slightly strained immediately responded to his message "Oh God, we were so worried, Lee's making his way over to you now"

"I can see you" Lee's voice exuberant as ever sounded in Neji's ear, activating his Byakugan and glancing around Neji immediately picked out the green figure heading towards him from amongst the trees.

"I see him too, Ten-Ten get our things together and meet us at the shrine like planned, we need to get out of town and back to Suna as quickly as possible."

"Neji what's happened?"

"Just do it! I'll explain later."

With that Neji shut down his radio, in the distance he could see that Lee had already changed course and was headed towards the meeting place. As he ran to join him Neji could tell that Lee was moving slower than usual obviously waiting for his team-mate to catch up.

The two said nothing as they move swiftly through the town heading for the arranged meeting place where a nervous Brunette was already awaiting them.

"Neji! Lee!" Ten-Ten who had been pacing nervously as she waited for her team sat down relieved and leant down to retie her sandal, her expression was one of extreme stress but she tried not to let her team see how worried she had been. "I got our things together, I don't think I forgot anything"

"Thanks" Lee took his pack and immediately opened it up "Everything's here, your stuff ok Neji?"

Neji was silent as he took his own bag and opened it up, after a brief rummage through his belongings he nodded and swung the bag over his shoulder.

"I left some money to pay the bill" Ten-Ten told them "I figured it would be best to pay like that, I guessed from your message that we didn't want to tell everyone that we were leaving and we didn't want to bring attention to the fact we were there at all, leaving without paying would have caused just as much trouble."

"Good girl" Neji admitted with a swift nod, he glanced around suspiciously checking the surrounding area to make sure no one was following them.

"Neji do you want to tell us what's going on?" Ten-Ten asked feeling a little annoyed at the good girl comment, she was the same age as Neji and she didn't like the way he treated her sometimes.

"I'm not sure exactly" Neji admitted "but one things for sure, we're onto something very dangerous here. It took us three days to get here stopping for searches on the way, I estimate at least two more days before we return to Suna. I'll tell you what happened on the way" after saying that Neji swung around to face the direction they needed to go in and without a word of warning was running so fast that it took Ten-Ten a good few minutes before she was fully caught up to him.

--

Hinata was relieved when they walked through Suna to see that her team was still the first one to return from their search. Their brief diversion and her subsequent fainting had set them back at least a day and she was worried that if Neji returned first he would be curious as to why. Her team had reported to Gaara and despite Hinata's wishes to question him about the temple they had come across they could see that his council were awaiting him for a meeting so they left him after reporting their failure to discover anything important.

Kiba and Shino weren't as eager as she was to stick around, they had been travelling through the desert for three days and the heat had made travelling a lot more arduous than usual. Both boys wanted to get somewhere cool and Akamaru was just as bad, the dog walked along his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth and panting heavily. They were directed to their temporary accommodation and Hinata was really looking forward to taking a long bath when a loud voice attracted their attention.

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT" They turned the corner just in time to see a familiar pink haired female whacking her team-mate around the head. They were standing outside a restaurant that from the looks of the signage -and the happy expression on Chouji's face- served 'The best Barbeque in Suna' Shikamaru Sasuke and Sai stood watching Sakura pounding on Naruto with very similar amused smirks while Ino appeared to be trying to check her reflection in the restaurant window. The boys were all dressed in their traditional shinobi gear but the girls had given in to the heat and now they weren't needed at the hospital had taken to wearing light summer dresses.

"C'mon Sakura" Naruto rubbed his head his face screwed up in pain "I was just saying… HINATA!" Naruto had caught sight of the returned team and immediately his face was plastered with a large sunny smile. The rest of the group with Naruto turned to smile welcomingly at them.

"Hey guys!" Kiba waved happily and with a quick burst of energy ran forward with Akamaru who had perked up at the smell of food. Shino and Hinata followed at a distinctly slower pace both hoping that they would be able to escape back to their rooms soon. Shino was feeling a little antisocial and far too hot to be companionable to anyone but his bugs who were also humming uncomfortably in the hot weather, Hinata under normal circumstances would have been thrilled to join them -especially with Naruto's presence- but she was acutely aware of how long it had been since she had bathed properly.

"It's good that you're back" Sakura shook her hand slightly as she greeted them "did you find anything?"

"Unfortunately not" Hinata answered for them "well… nothing of relevance, have you all discovered anything?"

"Nope" Naruto shook his head and dug his hands in his pockets "Just some kids story book about… Hey what happened to you?" Naruto's hands were out of his pockets and holding Hinata's shoulders before she could even really process the movement, he was standing in front of her looking down at her head. His eyes were fixed on her forehead where white bandages were in place over the wound she had received. She had placed her forehead protector back around her neck until she could get rid of the bandages and unbeknownst to her it made the blond smile, he had missed seeing it there.

Blushing bright red Hinata took a moment to process what Naruto was actually talking about "Wh… Oh! I hit my head, it's nothing."

"You ought to get it looked at" Naruto told her his eyes leaving her bandages and moving to look into her own. "It might get infected" he sounded so anxious that for a blissful second Hinata was in heaven, unfortunately her nervous nature soon turned her into a blushing stuttering mess.

"I-I… I… um, it's f-fine" Hinata was desperate to say more but as she spoke one of Naruto's hands moved from her shoulder and went to rest on her cheek causing her to flush even redder.

The rest or the group were watching appreciatively at the two shy young people, Ino leaned closer to Shikamaru and murmured "Bet ya 10 bucks she passes out in the next thirty seconds if he doesn't let go of her!"

"You're on" Shikamaru nodded feeling just as amused as she was by their friends actions.

"Hey Hinata" Sakura exclaimed loudly causing the couple to jump apart and getting many dark looks from the rest of the group who had all been either enjoying the little display in front of them, or had money riding on it "If you want I can take a look at the wound now!"

Despite being very red from remaining so long in such close proximity to Naruto this suggestion made Hinata go deathly pale and looking panicked she took a step back "No! No! I'm fine Kiba took care of it"

"Well you should at least let Sakura look" Shikamaru suggested "it's better to be safe than sorry"

Seeing Hinata's worry Kiba and Shino exchanged a quick look, both were desperately trying to think of some reason why Hinata needn't have her forehead looked at. Luckily for both of them Ino suddenly jumped forward.

"Hinata do you remember me telling you about that cute jewellery shop I found last time I was here? I so have to take you to see it!" Grabbing Hinata's wrist Ino chattered inanely as she dragged the incredibly grateful Hinata away from the group.

"Talk about shallow" Sakura muttered as she watched Ino drag Hinata away "Hinata could be hurt and Ino's just taking her shopping, I don't know what you see in her Shikamaru" Unaware of the attention that statement got Sakura walked into the restaurant they had been waiting in front of and asked for an outside table for seven.

"Hinata's fine" Kiba told them all watching Ino and Hinata disappear with an appreciative look on his face "She can always ask Ino to look at the wound if she wants."

Actually Kiba was correct there, as soon as Ino had dragged Hinata out of sight she had walked them into the nearest café and after ordering them both a drink began to unwrap Hinata's bandaged forehead. She hissed through her teeth as she looked at the wound and wondered how Hinata could be sitting there without a single sign of pain or agitation on her face. The café was pretty empty but the few people sitting around watched with interest as the blonde began the healing process.

"Hinata why didn't you get this seen to yet… and you know some medical techniques you should have done something" Ino continued to berate her friend as she pressed her hand to her forehead and allowed healing chakra to flow between them.

"I know, I didn't want to do much myself… the seal is still pretty new all things considered and I didn't want to make a mistake, the heads a pretty delicate place to work on. You know that."

"Yeah" Ino nodded before moving to sit back ion her chair "All done" she watched as Hinata took her forehead protector from around her neck and placed it back in it's proper place. "I guess that Shino and Kiba know now?"

"Yeah…, they know that you know as well."

"Well at least there's two people back there that don't think I'm a total bitch for dragging you shopping when you're injured" Ino said with a laugh, she was well aware what everyone was probably thinking of her previous actions.

"Well I'm looking forward to getting to the hotel and bathing… I also need to get into some clean clothes"

"Do you have anything other training clothes?" Ino asked looking at the trousers and jacket her friend was wearing "you know something lighter, the heat here is unbearable sometimes"

"Not really… why are you smiling like that?"

"No reason, I'm actually going to take you shopping once we've had a drink, might as well be hung for a wolf than a lamb!"

--

"Sooo?" Naruto asked as he and Shikamaru left the restaurant and headed towards the Kazekage's tower "What did Sakura mean about you and Ino?"

Groaning quietly Shikamaru tried to ignore Naruto but the blonde wouldn't let up, he kept on badgering him until Shikamaru wanted to yell at him, instead the lazy ninja stopped and turned to face Naruto merely asking "I'll tell you what's going on with me and Ino if you tell me what's going on with you and Hinata"

Flushing a little Naruto scratched the back of his neck "Nothings going on between me and Hinata."

"What was with all the 'You ought to get it looked at'?" Shikamaru placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders and gazed into his eyes imitating his concerned voice from earlier "and the 'It might get infected' stuff you came out with?"

Suddenly both boys became aware of someone standing near them, turning their heads they found that a group of sand shinobi they regularly went on patrol with were standing about a metre away looking either extremely embarrassed or absurdly amused.

Realising what their current pose must look like they each gave embarrassed coughs and took large steps away from each other. Turning they began to walk moving quickly away from the watchers and trying to make their strides as manly as possible.

Finally when they were a safe distance away from the group Shikamaru dared to attempt a conversation again "Look do you want to know why Hinata and I have been hanging out so much, why we were together the other day?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked up his interest peaked

"Well you were right about me, as was Sakura, I like Ino. I have done for a while but I wasn't sure if she liked me. Women are tricky things, you never know exactly where you are with them, they're the most confusing thing in this world and I wasn't sure how she'd react if I decided to tell her. I can't risk out team splitting up, it means too much to all of us and we've been through too much together"

"So you've been getting Hinata to talk to her? So much for you being a genius."

"Hey what is that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru exclaimed annoyed at the inference

"Well if you're so smart you could have worked it out!"

"Look just because I'm smart doesn't mean that I understand women. Only women understand women."

"Well why Hinata? Why not ask Sakura to talk to her? I mean I know they had problems but they're still friends."

"Because of Asuma sensei's last words" Shikamaru smiled grimly as he continued to walk, the mention of his late sensei reminded him that he had been running low on cigarettes and made him immediately check his pockets where he usually kept a good stash, "He told Ino not to let Sakura beat her at anything, not at being a medic or at romance. I do know something about Ino, I knew that if Sakura spoke to Ino, trying to get her to admit that she liked me or didn't like me, then she'd feel like she was somehow letting Asuma down. Look I want to get something here" Shikamaru pointed to a small tobacconists and Naruto nodded understandingly.

Once the genius (not so much of a genius that he's quit smoking, it can be done people!!) had finished with his purchases the two continued their walk. It wasn't until Shikamaru had opened the packet, pulled out a cigarette and lit up that they began they're conversation again.

"What makes you so sure Ino is 'the one'?" Naruto asked refusing Shikamaru's offer of a cigarette.

"What makes you so sure that Hinata is 'the one'?" Shikamaru retorted shoving the packet and lighter into his jacket pocket.

"Well it's odd but any other girl I liked before there was always something wrong, something that didn't sit right. Sakura was violent and even when she was being nice she seemed... like she wasn't interested in anything I do. Any other girl I've ever dated seemed fake. We get along."

"That's it? You get along?"

"Hinata was just...She's perfect for me." Naruto grinned childishly as he scratched his neck. "I never though so much about someone before, she's sweet, and kind, and though I know how tough she is… the only time I ever get worried is when I think of her in danger."

"So why haven't you asked her out?"

"Me ask out Hinata? As in the heiress to the Hyuga clan?" Naruto raised an eyebrow "Oh yeah, I'll get right on that. Just as soon as I've brought about world peace, mastered every jutsu that is known to man and worked out how to remove the caged bird seal from Neji and made it forbidden amongst the Hyuga clan. Come on like I could get Hinata"

Sighing Shikamaru decided to finally tell Naruto what everyone had been dying to tell him for years. "Naruto… she likes you"

"Yeah but Hinata likes everyone!" Naruto brushed off the comment with a shrug ignoring the annoyed look on Shikamaru's face.

"Oh man!" Shikamaru sighed and started banging his head on the nearest wall "How. Am. I. Friends. With. This. Id-i-ot?" Yelling angrily Shikamaru walked off yelling about dunces and asking the heavens how he -the smartest guy he knew- could possibly know someone so dumb.

"Huh" Naruto watched his friend walking off and shrugged before running to catch up with him yelling "HEY! What are you talking about?"

--

Feeling refreshed and much more comfortable Hinata walked through her room towelling off her wet hair, under Ino's advice she had purchased a couple of light dresses and was currently wearing her favourite, it came to a stop just below the knee, and was a white and light blue checked number with wide straps. Staring at herself in the mirror Hinata couldn't help but smile, back home if she wasn't in ninja garb she would end up in a formal kimono and she infinitely preferred this pretty style it made her feel unusually feminine.

They were staying in a nice hotel in Suna which made an incredibly pleasant change from the tent they had been staying in during their search, the rooms were not large but they each boasted a comfortable bed and a private bathroom that Hinata was thrilled to make use of. Picking up her comb Hinata began to brush out her hair not caring about how wet drips fell from her long tresses and onto the back of the dress, in the insane

"Hinata?" Ino knocked on the door as she called out to her friend "Can I come in?"

"Sure" Hinata skipped to the door smiling happily, Ino's reaction when she opened the door only served to bring Hinata's mood even further up, the blonde's jaw actually dropped.

"You have a figure? And legs? Ino stated looking down at Hinata approvingly "Who knew?"

"Ino!" Hinata blushed looking down at herself "I guess it is unusual f-for me to wear something like this… Is it,… is it too revealing?" Instantly Hinata was plagued with self doubt and her face lit in a light pink flush.

"Hinata I'm the last person to ask about whether or not someone is wearing something too revealing" Ino looked down at herself, her dress was about knee length as well but it was above the knee and so a little higher, across the chest it was cut a lot lower and was cinched a lot tighter at the waist. The two girls laughed sharing in the joke and soon Ino was dragging Hinata out of the room.

"My hair's still wet"

"That's one good thing about the desert, it'll dry really quickly, besides it's cooler to have it wet, I sometimes dunk my head in water just to walk around with my hair wet."

"Where are we going?"

"Ah now there's a question" Ino laughed teasingly but seeing Hinata's pout immediately began to fill her friend in. "Right now we're helping with the research stuff, we spend most of our time either on patrol or in the library looking stuff up. It's dull work and it's really hot in there but we get ice cold drinks while we do it."

"So we're researching stuff in this area?" Hinata asked suddenly interested "like the old temples in the area?"

"Sort of…" Ino nodded, she was surprised to notice her friend looking so willing to go spend time in the stuffy library "is there something in particular that you're looking for?"

"N…" Hinata had been about to deny any real interest in the subject but stopped herself. If it had been the same situation just over a year ago then she would probably wouldn't have trusted her but recently Ino had recently proved her worth as a friend and a secret keeper so instead Hinata stopped walking and turned to her friend. "Look Ino something weird happened while we were out searching." pausing before she continued Hinata went on to explain about the temple they had found and the mosaic that had looked so like her. She explained how curious she was to actually learn something about what it all meant.

"Well I agree that it's very curious" Ino nodded staring at her friend, just by looking at Hinata during their talk she could tell that the girl was being completely honest in her concern for what happened. She could also see that what Hinata had seen had scared the girl, there was more to this than she was saying. "What about it all had gotten you so shaken up?"

"Ino… what if it's not just an action from the past… what if I'm destined to die like that?"

"Hinata…"

"I know! I know it's stupid!" Hinata practically yelled surprising Ino "Sorry…I just know I'm acting stupidly but I saw something that…, something that I found disturbing. If it was… like a premonition of my death or something…. I'm not explaining this very well, look I'm just worried I'm going to die that way… how shameful would that be? To be executed in that fashion? I would prefer to die in battle, honourably, my family would never forgive me, but there was something else…, the night after Shino and Kiba were asleep I decided to get another look.

"You went back into the temple?"

"No, I used my Byakugan to look around, I soon realised that I was able to understand the writing under the mosaic, it was in an ancient Coptic form that many of our really old Hyuga documents are written in… it said '_the first to fall_' what if my death starts something that causes others to die, I couldn't bear that."

"Wait!" looking troubled Ino held up a hand and turned to stare at Hinata "It actually said the words 'the _first to fall'_?"

"Um… I think so"

"Hinata, this is important…, are you sure the words said '_The first to fall_?" Ino asked staring carefully at her friend, she was trying not to show her increasing panic but a few things were beginning to make a weird sort of sense to her.

After a long pause Hinata closed her eyes, thinking back to when she had been staring at the mosaic, eventually her eye's opened and she nodded "Yes it said that and something else… but that was inscribed in the outer chamber, I remember spotting it on the way in and wondering what it meant."

"Well?"

"It was a long piece… give me a second, _'__Whether or not History will be repeated is something that we mere mortals cannot know, we implore that the gods smile upon our humble and undeserving world, and we beg that the sins of the past be undone and the doomed lovers re-unite to keep a peace_. I think…, it may not be ver batim but that's the general gist of it all… Ino what's wrong?"

Ino had listened to all Hinata said with a tight feeling in her chest, she was worried for her friend, it seemed totally illogical but somehow the idea that was forming in her head made a lot of sense.

"Hinata, you don't get along well with your father do you?" _'her father her greatest darkness'_

"Not really, he's the worst thing in my life usually"

Trying to remember what else the story had said Ino stared down at the ground her long bangs covering her fear filled face "And… your sister? You adore your sister?"_Her sister her only light_

"Yeah… she's the best thing in my life… I'd do anything for her"

"Really?"

"Really! Why are you asking me all this Ino? You're starting to scare me" Hinata held out a hand towards her friend and placing it on her arm tried to get a proper look at Ino's face.

"I think we need to go talk to Temari" Ino said decisively

"Why?"

"I think it would be best if we went to her before I jump to any more conclusions, I'm not a genius like she is so I might be wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

"We can't talk out here" Ino muttered suddenly aware that they were in a busy street and that followers of the Tyrannical Monarch could be anywhere and anyone. "Come on lets go find Temari I'll explain everything there."

* * *

I know this poem is a little different from the first chapter but history gets altered and romanticised over time and I wanted to show that here. I may have made a few mistakes on certain things here so if I discover anything or am corrected I'll be back!

Please R&R


	5. The revelation

Thank you all for reviewing, I'm glad no ones hating me or my writing. Sorry that it's been a while and that the chapter is quite short but I did warn that it would be slow on the update, can you believe that my tutors actually expect me to study?

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Due to the incredibly fast pace that Neji set them Neji, Ten-Ten and Lee arrived back in Suna at the same time as the other two teams that had been sent out. All three teams headed straight to the Kazekage's tower to make their report but as only one team had anything to report the others were quickly dismissed.

The knowledge of Orochimaru's return didn't appear to trouble Gaara, but then very little did appeared on his face at all. He did however immediately call on of his personal guards to send a message to Tsunade warning her of the restoration of her old team-mates power.

"So you found the chalice but decided not to bring it back with you?"

"It would not have been wise to take on the enemy, the men all had clearly defined chakra networks, they were shinobi, and there was Orochimaru himself to think of to say nothing of Kabuto"

"You say that he never removed his hood, are you positive that it was Kabuto?"

"You doubt **my **sight?" Neji asked haughtily his eyes filled with repressed anger

"Neji!" Ten-Ten hissed as the proud Hyuga stared down the equally proud Kazekage "Just finish up making the report."

"Fine" Neji hissed through his teeth "It was indeed Kabuto, he is calling himself the oracle whatever that means."

"An oracle is a sort of soothsayer, or a …" Lee started to explain but he was stopped by a withering glare from Neji

"I meant whatever that means to the religion, he appears to be the main orator for Orochimaru."

"Kabuto did have a way of appealing to people and adapting his personality to gain their trust." Lee admitted, he remembered well during the chunin exam how charming and honest the bespectacled man had seemed.

"He was good with the crowds. He said he was named the oracle at birth and that they have the chalice, and will soon find the axe of purgance, and then they'll find the sacrifice. He also said that with the sacrifice of the chosen one they will be able to call upon the warriors of old."

"You're sure he used those exact words?" Gaara asked standing up in surprise

"I am" this time Neji answered a little more politely, despite everything the man in front of him was the Kazekage and had to be respected.

"Then they aren't the ones that purchased the axe and they do not appear to know who the chosen one was. This is excellent news. Or it could be excellent news, who else would have wanted the axe?"

"At first they also appeared to have unrest amongst their followers" Neji continued ignoring the Kazekage's musings "Orochimaru's presence put paid to any of that though. They seem sure that he is their leader, and with him there they were more than willing to bow down to serve him."

"That's understandable" Gaara nodded a slight frown creasing his forehead "Orochimaru's power was notorious, his presence would have either scared them all into submission or confirmed the idea of an all powerful being as their leader."

"Is that all you have to report?"

"It is…"

"No! I have something else to say" Ten-Ten spoke up moving to stand in front of Neji "the village we were in, it was small, smaller than the average village, but they all treated us with suspicion, and I mean everyone, I even saw kids looking at us like we were about to start killing them all."

"You think the entire village is part of the cult?" Gaara asked understanding what she meant

"It would appear that…, given their behaviour, it is the fundamental religion in the village. Add to that the fact that there was that tunnel system they used, I think it's very likely. It could be the current base of operations but Neji… all the men that were at the meeting, did they all appear to be from the village?"

"It was hard to tell. Why do you ask?"

"I'm thinking about those other tunnels, where they might lead to. It seems to me that they've got the perfect hiding place, it's not viewable with the Byakugan and if those tunnels lead to other villages they have the perfect escape route."

"I see what you mean" Pausing in thought Neji frowned as he thought back to each individual that had been in the cave, they had all been dressed identically he hadn't really paid attention to what was under the robes, their skin colouring was similar… "One of them had a slightly different accent, he sounded as though he belonged to one of the more nomadic tribes that I've met while travelling through Suna's desert. It could have been that he was passing through the village but there were no camps around the village, no signs of any travellers"

"Then it doesn't seem likely that a nomad would be there" Gaara nodded understandingly "They refuse to sleep inside of buildings and travel in sets of at least five, if you saw no evidence of any campsites then this strong support for the cult appears to spread to other villages. I would like to know which villages and how strong the feeling is, have you any other information that might be useful?"

"I'm afraid not, the tunnel system is not natural but it is very old, the wooden props used have been reinforced many times, I would say that the tunnels are at least 100 years old."

Looking at the Kazekage Ten-Ten suggested "The tunnels could have been made in times of war or as a mine. It might be an idea to look at the village in the records and see what other towns they were allied with during war-time. It would make sense that the tunnels would lead to them. You should also have in the records what the possible mining systems there were and where they linked. We could then send out other teams just to get a feel for the attitude in the towns. Wherever those places are, the tunnels can't spread too far."

"A good point" Gaara acknowledged the logical idea "I think I know who to recommend does that research."

--

"Oh Come On!!" Naruto moaned as Gaara explained what was needed "we already spent what felt like years in that library and now you want us to do it again? Gaara can't you find someone else to do it?" Behind him Shikamaru and Kiba could be seen nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Naruto we need this research done and we can trust all of you, it's very unlikely that any of you are members of the cult and will betray our trust..." Gaara was well aware that actually that statement wasn't true. He knew that Temari (who showed her opinion by snorting as he spoke) still had her claws out for Sasuke after his actions in the past but Naruto had worked hard to convince Gaara of his team mates trustworthiness. "Besides you all know the library catalogues by now, it should be an easy job for you."

"We don't" Kiba raised his hand indicating himself Shino and the other returned teams. It was quite obvious from the joyful look on his face that he thought that this fact may get him off the hook where the research was concerned.

"They'll help you" Gaara told Kiba and the others easily "it'll take very little time to get used to it."

"I better get a **really **big meal after all this" Naruto complained crossing his arms and grimacing as he gazed around at the books and scrolls surrounding him.

"Well I was planning on going to that Nimsiki Ramen place we frequented on your last visit." Gaara said in a slightly amused tone

"Alright!" Naruto was immediately appeased, his childhood self would have jumped up and punched the air but his older self merely grinned happily, one thing he had never outgrown was his insatiable love for ramen. "I may bankrupt you though"

"I'll take that risk."

Smirking lightly at his friends humour Gaara looked at the other two teams that had been searching the desert, he didn't know any of them apart from their records provided by Hinata. They were all a lot older than he was, luckily for him he had never had a problem bossing around people older than himself. "You will no doubt be willing to help in the research?"

There were nods from the non Hyuga members of the teams but Nana and Kazuhiko Hyuga exchanged a look.

"If you will excuse us from this search Kazekage-sama I'm afraid we have something necessary to report to our clan… and some work to do, we are under order's from, our clan council" Nana spoke with the quiet voice of the Hyuga but in a steely tone that brooked no argument.

Neji looked up he was surprised at this but he refused to show it, Hinata's father had allowed these two to be given orders while on a mission. It was an unusual practice.

"Lady Tsunade is aware of this, any communication will go directly though her" Kazuhiko informed the group.

"Very well" Gaara nodded "The message must be checked by my people first" he nudged Temari forward as he spoke who stepped forward "You will deliver it to Lady Temari who will have it examined before you send it"

"Of course"

Frowning Neji watched as Nana and Kazuhiko Hyuga bowed to Gaara before they walked away from him. They were both branch family members like him, but were about five years older than himself and as a result had a higher authority than he did. But why had they been given a second secret mission while already on a mission?

"Now those of you that have been here before will show the newcomers around…"

"The day that dead last Naruto shows me around the library is a long way away." Kiba muttered under his breath but it was not quiet enough as Naruto immediately went onto the defensive.

--

"I really d-don't quite understand what the problem is Ino" Hinata said as she allowed herself to be dragged through the streets of Suna. "Shino and K-Kiba thought it was nothing."

"Yeah well they didn't know the full story" Ino was obviously thinking hard about something, there was a serious look on her face "just let me think Hinata"

Nodding Hinata kept silent as she walked beside her friend, recently she had gotten to know Ino quite well and she trusted her enough to expect an explanation when Ino thought best. They walked into the Kazekage Tower leading Hinata through the winding corridors and leading her to the offices high up in the building. They arrived at a pair of wooden doors intricately designed with carvings and Ino immediately raised her hand to knock. There was no response and so the blonde opened the door to look in.

"Ino!" Hinata hissed as the girl opened the door to look in

"What?" Ino grinned as she ducked back out of the office "She won't mind… she must be in the library… or maybe the training grounds." she paused thoughtfully looking at Hinata "Tell you what, you wait here and I'll go get her."

"Ino I wish you would explain…"

"Hinata I might be wrong. I'm not smart like the others, Temari will know better than me. Now wait here." with a swish of her long ponytail Ino spun around and leaving Hinata outside the doors ran back down the stairs.

Hinata watched her go feeling sorry for the blonde, Ino never seemed to see how intelligent she was, it was probably due to the fact that she was on the same team as Shikamaru and having Temari visit so often. Those two genius's one lazy and the other merely relaxed but both obviously intelligent and extremely condescending. It would be enough to make even the smartest of people doubt themselves.

--

They were in the library already beginning their search when Ino found them, Kiba and Naruto were arguing it out in grand form. Temari sat in amused silence with the rest of the Konoha shinobi in town watching as the two of them faced off. Ignoring her team mate's welcoming smiles she stayed by the door beckoning Temari over.

"I SAID DEAD LAST, WHAT OF IT?" Kiba yelled not even noticing Ino's entrance, or anything else that was going on around him.

"Temari!" Ino hissed and beckoned to the Suna ninja over "can we talk…privately?"

"Of course" confused but intrigued Temari followed Ino as she walked away from the highly volatile face off.

"CALL ME THAT AGAIN AND I'LL POUND YOU!"

"Can we go to your office? I left Hinata there?"

"Of course" Temari looked at Ino curiously, her face was set in a frown very unlike the way she usually looked.

"Tell me… that story you found, do you have any of the original translations?"

"I don't think so… why?"

"It's the beginning, The chosen one, Facing Sunlight, The warrior prince, Watery Vortex, The tyrant monarch, Imposing Serpent" Ino paused feeling uncertain as she walked with Temari.

"Yes what about it?"

"Well… what if those descriptions, weren't descriptions but names."

"I still don't get it" Temari shook her head her brain seemingly very sluggish today she stared at Ino who appeared to be unsure of herself.

"Well you know how certain names have meanings, like… Agnes means lamb or Sakura means cherry blossom"

"I see what you mean" Temari nodded smiling "That's really clever… what made you think of that?"

"Well…" Ino looked around before she continued "Well I…, I know someone who's name means facing sunlight"

"So you know what the name of the chosen one is?!" Temari sounded triumphant until she noticed the miserable look on Ino's face "What's wrong with that?"

"I kind of hoped you'd tell me that I was being stupid, that if that was the case then they'd have changed the names of Gaara, Kankuro and yourself as well" Ino told her sadly

"That's a good point but… well Gaara, Temari and Kankuro are more well known historically than the chosen one… remember she became a religious icon or a legend. The three Creators of Suna are historical fact."

"I suppose…" Ino was looking so miserable that Temari was confused, surely this was a good thing?

"Ino tell me how you know that someone's name means facing sunlight."

"At school once we looked into names and their meanings… there was someone in class whose name basically translates as Facing Sunlight"

"Oh… so it's a friend of yours?" Temari finally understood why Ino was looking less than happy "Well… it doesn't necessarily mean that it's your…"

"Temari you said that they built temples, shrines and museums in honour of the chosen one?"

"Yes?" Temari waited for Ino to continue but she didn't, instead the blonde just turned saying

"C'mon, lets get to your office"

Intrigued and a little annoyed about the way that Ino was acting Temari followed but she maintained a gloomy expression occasionally remarking about how if Ino would just tell her it would all be a lot easier. Every time Temari said this her companion would shake her head distractedly and continue walking.

"Temari" Hinata stood smiling as she greeted the Suna shinobi, Temari responded in kind before leading the two girls into her office and shutting the door.

"Ok Ino, what's so important?" Leaning her huge fan carefully up against the wall Temari sat down behind her desk, she indicated for the two girls to sit down as well and they both took seats facing her.

"Hinata I want you to tell Temari exactly what you told me."

"When we were out searching we found a temple, it was buried under the sand but I found an entrance. I went inside with Kiba and Shino and made our way to the main room. It looked like a basilica or chapel of some sort."

"Well that's very fascinating" Temari said an odd look on her face " but I'm guessing from the questions Ino was asking earlier that it had something to do with the chosen one?"

"Yes… We found this mosaic… Kiba Sino and I it…, it was me." Temari looked confused again so Hinata stopped to think before she said anymore "Inside the temple was a stone altar above it there was a mosaic, it was amazing and the girl in it looked exactly like me, same hair, same eyes, same mouth and nose and underneath was a caption it said 'the chosen one'. It was in an ancient language not used any more but… ok what did I say?" Hinata was surprised when Temari's face took on an expression similar to Ino's when she first heard this story.

"It looked just like you?" Temari asked staring hard at the young girl

"Yes… why what does this mean? Why is it so important?"

With a quick sigh Temari opened up one of the drawers in her desk and pulling out a scroll tossed it across the desk to Hinata "Read that" There was a short silence as Hinata read what the others had read before.

"I still don't quite get it… I mean I know that the last part of the story is similar to what was outside of the temple and there was the inscription the chosen one under the picture but…"

"Hinata, what does your name mean"

"Looking at Sunlight… oh, you think?" Hinata laughed "this is silly, there is no way…"

"A life of discontent and great unfairness, that was the life the chosen one led. Her sister her only light, her father her greatest darkness A happy smile and kind heart she possessed." Ino read the description of the chosen ones life with a look of distaste

"I'm not that…."

"Hinata!" Ino interrupted the girls protests a concerned look on her face "I'd love to be wrong and who knows I might be, but if I'm not…." Ino stopped biting her lip, she glanced at Temari who was looking equally worried.

"If she's not… then Hinata, you're in a great deal of danger." Temari frowned as she finished that sentence. Turning she looked over at the door and yelled "Would you come in already!"

To the surprise of the other girls in the room the door opened and Kankuro entered smiling sheepishly "I couldn't help overhearing" the man apologised falsely "I had my ear at the door."

"I know, I could sense you" Temari frowned rolling her eyes at his complete disregard for people privacy and seeming inability to mask his chakra "If it wasn't for the fact that I want you to know about this then I would have sent you away ages ago."

"Love you too sis" Kankuro told her with a grin

"Shut up," Temari looked Hinata up and down carefully "Ok Kankuro I want you to arrange a guard on Hinata while she's in Suna, we'll say it's because she's the Hyuga heiress… who else knows that you are no longer named the heiress?"

"How do you…?" Hinata looked at her stunned

"I was in town when it happened, I was in the room next to the one when your father informed Tsunade what had happened."

"Oh" Hinata bit her lip and stared at the ground, Tsunade had been very noisy when she discovered that Hinata had been sealed. In fact she was surprised more people hadn't heard about the change but due to Hanabi's not being told about her 'promotion' Tsunade had willingly kept quiet.

Hinata had at first assumed that Tsunade's anger was because she was going to be out of action for a few weeks while she adjusted to the seal but it turned out that Tsunade had been hoping that Hinata would take over the Hyuga clan. Apparently she thought Hinata could run the clan better than Hanabi. It had made Hinata smile to discover that at least one person in power thought she was competent enough to do it.

"I do, so does Kiba and Shino" Ino spoke for Hinata seeing that she had disappeared into her memories momentarily.

"But nobody else?"

"Nana and Kazuhiko know, they were present at my sealing, Neji might, but I'm not sure, he's only a young member of the branch family, it's quite likely he doesn't know yet. They want to make sure Hanabi isn't told until she's older."

"Well we need them to keep quiet as to your official status, if we say we are placing extra protection on the heiress at a time when we're unstable it'll be understood. As it is Hinata I'll have you working with Gaara, he's got a council tomorrow. Tsunade has named you as her spokesperson while you are here. She's sending another but Suna is in an official state of emergency and we need to show solidarity between the hidden villages."

"Alright" Hinata nodded, she had been placed in a position of spokesperson for Tsunade but it had only been in minor matters.

"Good, Kankuro find Gaara, get him into his office, we'll meet him there"

--

It was with a completely impassive face that Gaara had listened to the story Ino and Temari had for him but he was more interested than usual in what they had to say. He agreed to Temari's plans for Hinata's protection but expressed a real need to return Hinata home as soon as possible

"We can't do that yet, it would cause too much suspicion." Temari argued "If we return her to Konoha now people will want to know why."

"You have a plan" It was mere statement of fact from Kankuro as he and Gaara stared at Temari

"Sort of, I'm placing a guard on Hinata telling them that it is due to her status as Hyuga heir, this way people won't find it too unusual when we send her home. We'll wait until the new contingent form Tsunade arrives and then send the entire first team home."

"Would Aburame and Inuzuka be able to take us back to the temple you found?" Gaara asked quietly

"Probably, it's not far hard to find once you know where to look" Hinata responded to the question with a smile "Kiba and Shino will be able to retrace their steps quite easily."

"You think it's the original temple of the chosen one" Again what could have been a question was said by Kankuro as fact

"What else could it be? I know they said it had been destroyed but who knows? I'd like to send a team out confirm the sighting."

"Well we can ask them about it but…" Temari paused "We ought to do it once Hinata has left for Konoha, if we show Suna shinobi that mosaic and she's still in town when they get back it could cause trouble. If they're non believers it might convert them or if they're easily brought then they may try to sell their information to Orochimaru"

"Hinata's presence here is causing real problems right now"

Kankuro was unaware of how much his statement affected Hinata, she had never been confident in herself and had always seen herself as a burden. With the Suna nin's comment any self confidence she had disappeared. Ino on the other hand was trying to think of a way to get Hinata home safe and sound as soon as possible. It was hard to have female friends and be a shinobi, it was a very masculine way of life and making friends with civilians was almost impossible. Civilian women never understood how Kunoichi could kill and fight with such ease, Kunoichi had different views and morals, they lived life as though each day was their last, after all in their profession it could be. Hinata and Ino were fast on their way to becoming the best friends they each had.

Keeping up discussions with his siblings and making plans to get Hinata back to Konoha's protection Gaara continued to see visitors throughout the day. After some hours the plans were made and soon they had a good plan of action for getting the Konoha twelve back home.

It was with a real sense of worry that Temari gazed at the other two girls in her brothers office. She had noticed that Hinata and Ino were dwelling on their current uncertain future. Hinata was becoming more and more pensive, her old habit of poking her fingers together had resurfaced. Ino was frowning and probably wishing she was living in ignorance that she hadn't been smart enough to work out that her friend was the one in danger.

Shrugging it off Temari stood and pasting a smile onto her face said "Come on let's go, Gaara promised to treat the others for dinner, Naruto found a ramen place that he deems worthy of his patronage. Want to see your friend ruin an entire village?"

"I think I'd prefer to just go back to my room." Hinata whispered

"No Temari's right" Ino stood smiling lightly "we should go and have a good meal, for all we know I could be wrong and lets face it there's a reason why there are so many dumb blonde jokes"

"Hey!" Temari argued glaring at her fellow blonde, Hinata giggled as she followed the two women out of the room.

--

Locked away in their room two Hyuga briefly discussed what they had learned whilst on their search. Thye had been specifically chosen for this mission, not as Hinata thought, for their excellent abilities but for their knowledge surrounding a certain area of Hyuga tradition and history.

"You are sure that the cup that was stolen is **the** cup?"

"How many chalices would be named the desert flower or bloom?" Nana asked as she sat looking over the cipher page she had been given.

"Good point"

"Even if it's the wrong cup they have read the story, it's only a matter of time before someone puts the peices together and works out who Hinata is. If like Neji says, the Oracle is looking for her then we do not have much time."

After a final check of the cipher page Nana began to write, for a short time the only sound that could be heard was the scratch of pen on paper and the occasional curse from the woman as she made a mistake. Finally she held out the page to her partner in crime

"Decode it using standard shinobi coding"

Kazuhiko pulled out a pen of his own and after a few moments read out "'Hinata's safe, her adjustment and approaches to the caged bird symbol and her destiny as a branch member are satisfactory'" Kazuhiko paused making a quick mark with his pen "it then says 'Be ready to welcome us when we escort her home in a very short time.'"

"Can you see the message within the message?"

"Only because I know it to be there. Will it be understood by any of the sand ninja?" Kazuhiko asked as he watched Nana carefully write out the message they were sending

"No, the Hyuga council themselves would have a hard time finding it's true meaning, it is a coded message within a coded message within a letter. They will read the letter, they will then decode it and find a message informing the Hyuga of Hinata's progress. The Hyuga will then decode the secret message with their copy of this cipher. To them it shall read 'Hinata approaches her destiny, ready the escort in time'."

"Nicely done, do you not think it would be wise to inform Neji and Lady Hinata of the danger?"

"No, Hinata would be better in ignorance and Neji… Neji is still not entirely trusted by the council."

"It has been many years since the chunin exams…"

"I know, and I trust him" Nana smiled lightly "but I will not disobey the council again, I learned my lesson the first time."

* * *

Please don't hesitate to correct me about anything here I know my translations may be wrong but I don't speak Japanese well enough to be sure, they all come from various internet sites. I can go back and rewrite if someone has serious issues.

Please R&R


	6. The journey begins

Thank you everyone for reviewing. Another short one and still not a lot of action here but the next chapter has at least one fight scene in it. I haven't written it yet but I have a basic outline!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

It was with a wide smile that Hinata followed the sand siblings and entered the restaurant that Naruto had taken a liking to, the whole place was so intrinsically Naruto that she felt like laughing. The décor was bright yellow edged with blue and orange and the scent of ramen and other noodle based dishes filled the air. Her two team mates sat with a space between them where she was obviously expected to sit while Ino's had done the same.

"So who else are we waiting for?" Hinata asked as she noticed the four empty seats at their table, Everyone was sitting now with the exception of Naruto.

"Lee, Neji and Ten-Ten." Naruto informed her as he sat down opposite the dark haired girl. He had been carefully discrete in situating himself so that he could face her all throughout the meal. He had waited for Kiba and Shino to sit and noticing the space they left between them and stood casually opposite the space whilst talking to both boys. Only Shikamaru appeared to find this movement amusing.

"Lee, Neji and Ten-Ten? When did they get back?" Hinata asked surprised, she had been cooped up with Temari for so long that she had not been aware of her cousins return to the village.

"This morning… didn't I tell you?" Temari asked frowning at her lapse in communication

"No, you mentioned that a team had returned after discovering the location of the… missing them" Hinata had been about to say the chalice but she was still very aware of the secrecy surrounding their mission. "but I didn't know who was back."

"I guess we should have told you that all the teams are back now" Ino spoke up from her seat beside Hinata "The other two teams that had Hyuga on ate a while ago and headed to the hotel, they were exhausted."

"I'm glad they're back" Hinata gave a small smile and a knot of tension in her shoulders that she had so far been unaware of, released itself and she felt her whole being relax.

"Me too, I just can't believe what they said about Oro…"

"Naruto!" Sasuke silenced his friend swiftly as he looked cautiously around the room. Luckily the restaurant was pretty empty, it was well after the morning rush and far too early for it to have filled up for dinner. Hinata was curious as to why Sasuke had interrupted his friend but was prevented from asking about it by the arrival of Team Gai. Conversation soon developed into everyday talk as they spoke about mutual friends and how many times Tsunade had drunk herself into a stupor that week.

They were actually the only people there asides from the staff and it was a lucky thing considering the fact that there were sixteen of them at the table and Akamaru lounging on the floor, they took up at least half the space the restaurant had to offer. Of course Naruto consumed at least half the food that the restaurant had to offer, so it kind of worked out.

It was late when the meal was finally finished and the sand siblings headed back to the tower, everyone else made their way to the hotel they were staying in. As it was the largest room they all crowded into the room shared by the males on team Gai and team Kakashi. Lee and Neji then went on to tell everyone what had happened, about the town they had visited and though Neji wasn't exactly forthcoming with the tale Lee's exuberance in telling was more than compensatory. Lee had heard Neji's uneventful, monotone almost monosyllabic version, and so took over the narrative and told the tale in a powerfully descriptive way that had the others (figuratively speaking) on the edge of their seats.

"And then Kabuto asks _"You question me? The divine oracle named at birth to interpret these prophecies?" _so we know that Kabuto has always been a part of this cult, even when he was in the chunin exams with us. Anyway then one of the crowd yells out_ "We have no proof" _And Kabuto says _"Then I shall prove it. Come forward my lord!"_

And kneels down…." Lee paused dramatically

"Yes?" Ino and Sakura urged him to continue

"And out of the shadows steps a tall figure."

"Who?" Sakura asked seemingly forgetting that she had been told this story earlier

Munching on some popcorn Chouji grinned and leant towards Shikamaru and Naruto whispering "Lee should seriously consider a career in radio acting" the other two nodded smiling

"Orochimaru" Lee announced dramatically smiling as most people nodded suddenly remembering that they had already heard this

"What?" Hinata's voice shook as she asked the question, everyone turned to look at her

"Orochimaru" Lee repeated

"Orochimaru…?" Hinata asked looking at Lee her eyes wide, standing she turned to look at Neji "Are you completely sure?"

"Yes… why? Do you doubt me? It's pretty hard to be wrong with the Byakugan" Neji's voice had a trace of annoyance in it, that was the second time someone had questioned his story and he wasn't happy about it.

"No, I know…, sorry" Standing Hinata turned distractedly away and made her way towards the door.

"Hinata?" Ino followed her as she made her way to the doorway but Hinata said nothing merely taking hold of Ino's wrist and leading her out of the room. Everyone else sat watching as the two girls left.

"Well that was odd!" Sai stated as the door closed behind the two kunoichi

"Very odd" Shikamaru said with an odd look in his eyes, his brow creased momentarily in thought and before anyone else could speak Shikamaru stood announcing "Lets get to our rooms and settle for the night, we've early training tomorrow."

"You know Shikamaru" Chouji said smirking "I believe you when you say you want to sleep now, but I seriously doubt you want to be up early in the morning for training."

--

Once they were out of the room Hinata didn't stop to talk to Ino she merely kept hold of her wrist and continued walking down the hallway

"Hinata?"

There was no response from the other girl so Ino just followed waiting for her quiet friend to explain what was troubling her. It wasn't until they were in the hotel lobby that Hinata stopped to look about her. There were several chairs in the lobby and as it was late evening the place was empty. The two girls, one leading, the other being lightly dragged, went over to the chairs and sat down.

"Ok what's wrong?"

"Orochimaru" Hinata whispered

"I know, it's scary that he's back and nearly impossible to get your head around but…."

"Do you know what the name Orochimaru means?"

"Um… No?"

"It basically translates as Big snake which could also be interpreted as…"

"Imposing serpent" Ino nodded suddenly understanding what her friend meant "Of course! And if we think of Orochimaru as the snake, the venomous one… it kind of makes sense! I always thought he was really snakelike. What are we going to do?"

"Well I was going to suggest talking to Temari but I'm willing to bet that if she has half the brains she's supposed to have she'll have worked it out."

"Well she is a blonde" Hinata smiled briefly but it was clear that something else was bothering her so Ino took her friends hand and leaning forward pressed her "What else? What else is troubling you?"

"I don't know Ino…, the more I think about this whole thing the more I don't like it, I could have died on so many missions and it wouldn't have meant anything, but if I am to get killed by this enemy, and they are successful in killing me with the axe and catching my blood in the chalice then it could destroy everyone and everything in this world."

"Hinata, that's not a good way to think"

"Isn't it? I'm realistic if nothing else, I've always been realistic."

"Hinata, they have the cup, but they don't have you or the axe." Ino paused, Hinata was still looking upset "They didn't exactly make it easy on themselves did they? If I was setting up a cult I'd make it easy. In order to rule the world I have to eat an entire box of chocolates… even the coconut ones."

"I like the coconut ones" Hinata argued smiling a little "I guess you're right. They've got a long way to go before they can kill me, no one seems to know where the axe is."

"I know…, it's odd. Who other than the Suna shinobi, the people from the cult and maybe you, would want the axe?"

"About that… in the mosaic it was a sword."

"Maybe it's just easier to make the shape of a sword in a mosaic."

"Maybe…" shaking her head Hinata sighed "Life was easier when I was just the failure of an heiress and about to be chucked out of my clan, now I'm the next sacrifice that could end the world."

"Could be worse"

"How?" Hinata asked bemused

"Um…. Give me a few minutes and I'll come up with something! Come on, I think it'll put your mind at rest if we go see Temari"

--

Standing in the corridor Naruto looked tired and unhappy, he had been standing out here waiting for Ino and Hinata to return from wherever they had gone. Hinata had seemed distracted all throughout dinner and not just her usual nervous flushing behaviour. Something was up with her and he was annoyed that he didn't know what it was yet.

"You still waiting for them to come back?"

"What are you doing out here Shikamaru?" Naruto didn't even turn to look at his friend as he entered the corridor.

Smiling lazily Shikamaru walked to join Naruto and standing beside him leant up against the wall "Thought I'd come wait with you"

"Great, that's just what I need, you to come and make smart-alecky comments about how I'm the densest human ever. And wonder why someone so smart could know someone so dumb?"

"When did I say that?"

"Earlier after our talk."

"Oh yeah…" Shikamaru nodded smiling reminiscently "I forgot about that."

"How am I dense?" Naruto enquired confused, he wasn't that bad… was he?

"Are you really asking me that?"

"Yes"

"Ok, Naruto…, Hinata has a crush on you. Has done since we were kids."

"What?" Naruto turned to stare at his friend completely surprised, "How do you know?"

"How do I know? How do you not know? How could anyone not know? Haven't you ever noticed that Hinata blushes and fidgets like crazy when you're around, or that her stutter gets worse?"

"She's always that way" Naruto retorted unable to see how this had any bearing on the conversation.

"Only when you're there."

"Really?" Shikamaru nodded "Oh… !" Naruto was stunned, he couldn't have been more surprised if fairies jumped through the window and made Sasuke and Sai smile and perform ring-a-ring-a-roses. "Well…. How was I supposed to notice that?"

Shikamaru stared at him surprised, as he had said before how could anyone not notice that? In fact Naruto was usually the first one to notice the blush, of course he then went on to assume that the girl was ill and ask if she was ill. "What do you mean?"

"Well… if she always does it when I'm around, how am I supposed to know that she doesn't do it if I'm not there?"

"I…" Shikamaru stared at the blond surprised "That's actually a really good point"

"Of course it is, how was I supposed to know that I was the cause of that? Man!" Naruto shook his head and sighed, while a part of him was pleased that Hinata liked him another part of him was annoyed that he had never noticed that he could have asked Hinata out ages ago. "How come no one ever told me?"

"I told you the other day that she liked you."

"Oh yeah… still it's not my fault that I didn't notice." Naruto scratched his head "I didn't realise you meant LIKE, like, I just thought you meant like. I thought that when girls liked guys…" he trailed off feeling embarrassed and flushing lightly.

"Yes" Shikamaru urged feeling amused at his friend's blush.

"Well I thought they acted like Sakura and Ino did with Sasuke, you know pushy, loud and always trying to impress… I never really had the chance to see how else girls would act with guys"

"They did rather grab everyone's attention with their little displays of…affection. Hinata's different though, she's shy and quiet… she'd be mortified if she even realised that I was telling you this."

"I guess… Wow, how do I even go about doing this? I mean every time I talk to her and get close to asking her out as just a friend she starts blushing and I'm terrified she's going to faint."

"Hinata doesn't faint so much these days… Naruto I'm going to tell you something Hinata once told me. We shinobi don't live long lives, Asuma and Kurenai spent so long keeping their relationship under wraps that by the time they were happy, and beginning to start a family, they had lost each other. You can't spend you're life second guessing everything."

"I know, if only we weren't shinobi, this would be a lot easier…" Naruto was cut off as Shikamaru laughed at his statement "…what?"

"I once said that to Hinata as well, do you know what she said to that?"

"No"

"She asked me what I had thought of Ino when we were at the academy, I was honest, I thought she was a spoiled, obsessive, shallow, gossip hungry, bimbo."

"Nice"

"Yeah, and then Hinata reminded me of when my opinion changed, it was in the forest of death during the chunin exams. Sakura was being attacked and the first thing Ino did was jump in front of her to protect her. After that I began to see that she was the type of girl to put others people safety before her own. If we weren't shinobi would I know that? Would you have fallen for Hinata? She could have become some cruel, spoiled Hyuga heiress and you'd never have met her. There's no guarantee that if we were living different lives, in different situations that we would fall in love with the same people."

"I'd always love Hinata" Naruto said determinedly "she could never be spoilt or cruel."

Smirking Shikamaru couldn't help but ask "So it's definitely love now… is it?" But Naruto didn't appear to be listening, his brow was creased as he stood in deep thought.

"I'm off to bed" Naruto muttered leaving the corridor and heading into his room "I'll see you in the morning Shikamaru"

--

"I did notice it" Temari nodded to Ino and Hinata "With Orochimaru around it seems more likely than ever that Hinata is the one we want. Kabuto's actions worry me though, he's met Hinata, if he's ever seen that mosaic he'll recognise Hinata in it. You met him didn't you… in the chunin exams?"

"Yes, yes I did. But that was years ago, I'm older now, surely I look a little different?"

"Either way he'll recognise the Hyuga eyes and head straight for Konoha and then they'll find you, I'm surprised he hasn't already. It would be a good idea for you to get out of Konoha to a safe place…" seeing that Hinata was about to argue with her Temari amended "or at least keep in hiding once you get to Konoha. Tsunade can sort that out. I'll just talk to Gaara and Kankuro about it but... maybe I could arrange something to keep them off the scent."

"I thought you didn't want to send us away too soon? You said it would be suspicious."

"I know but the next team that Tsunade was sending to us is due to arrive tomorrow. We can send you all out very early in the morning and the worst thing that could happen is that you pass the next lot on their way here. Are you Ok to go?"

"I guess... I know it sounds stupid but part of me wants to stay." Hinata admitted "Not because of the risk to me but because of the…, the prophecy, I mean this is my future on the line…"

"I know but you're endangering the people here, there are many to consider and Hinata, asides from anything else we need to get a decent warning back to Tsunade. You have to go back."

"I know." Hinata nodded sensibly "Doesn't stop me wondering though."

"Good point! Alright first thing tomorrow, you guys are out of here. Tell the others, not Kiba and Shino though, we need them to find that temple."

"Won't the others find it odd that I'm going back and my team-mates aren't?"

"If they ask just chalk it up to Hyuga clan business."

--

"I'd like to recommend Hinata's immediate removal" Temari spoke quietly to Gaara "The new teams will arrive from Konoha tomorrow and I wish to send her back. Knowing what we know about Orochimaru we can't second guess ourselves any longer, there's about a 97% chance that we're right in our theorising!"

"I have no argument with that, Kiba and Shino will remain behind to help us find that temple, I'll send a team out with them and the rest shall go home." Gaara nodded a slight frown on his face before looking at Temari "Should we warn them all? Should we inform the rest of the Konoha nin that they are escorting the chosen one home?"

"I think not…" Gaara looked over at his brother who sat silently in the corner fiddling with an arm from his puppet "I wish to send Kankuro with them under pretence of speaking to Tsunade about our situation but other than that I think it would be better not to tell them. If they all know their actions may become suspiciously overprotective."

"I don't like those Hyuga" Kankuro muttered quietly "there's something about them"

"You mean asides from the usual cold stick-up-the-ass 'I'm so much better than you' Hyuga attitude?" Temari asked with a smile which surprisingly Kankuro didn't return.

"It's something else," Kankuro shook his head angrily "They know something, something we don't know"

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know… but it's the way they look at Hinata sometimes, like they're afraid of something also, didn't you notice during the meal they never called her 'Lady Hinata' like Neji does yet they still served her and tried to make sure that she ate properly. When I recommended Sake the almost blew a fuse. I once thought that it was because she was heiress but now that can't be it…"

"I know what you mean. Once upon a time they needed to server her as she was their leader but now that is not the case. Tell me Temari..." Gaara agreed with Knakuro before turning to Temari frowning lightly "What did the decoders get from that message?"

"Nothing. Just some message about Hinata's seal… but that's what's so curious, it doesn't make sense. She was sealed quite a while ago, why mention it now?" Temari frowned shaking her head "If it weren't for the fact that we're going to be sending them home soon I'd be tempted to bring them in for questioning, or to at least set a watch them…"

"I'm tempted to warn Naruto and the others that they're taking the chosen one home and could be attacked at any moment." Kankuro interjected "whatever the issues he's always honest with us and I think we should be with him. They could get attacked, if they just think that they're just heading home after a simple mission they won't be on high alert."

"Good point" Gaara nodded "But to tell them that it's Hinata when the cult might not know…"

"Hang on…. I know what we could do… Gaara do you particularly need you're secondary private contingent?"

"Not any time soon."

"Good, that group has a female in it, Hiromi right?"

"Right"

"Excellent, she's the decoy. We tell them that we think Hiromi is the 'chosen one' and we want her sent to Konoha for protection. We have Hiromi explain everything to Tsunade, the team is on high alert but the real plus to all this is that we have five extra people to travel with Hinata, all ANBU level."

"Perfect!"

"Yeah a perfect tangle of lies, it could fall apart or trip someone up at any moment." Kankuro muttered darkly.

--

"My Lord?"

"Kabuto, finally!" in the darkened room Orochimaru frowned lightly at his favourite workman "How is your progress with the search?"

"The trail of the axe appears to have gone cold" Orochimaru stood his anger palpable but Kabuto held up a hand "However I have found a definite lead on the chosen one."

"Excellent, when do you move?"

"I will be taking a team to Konoha first thing tomorrow."

"Konoha?" Orochimaru frowned "Why Konoha?"

"Because that is where the chosen one lives. She is Hyuga"

"Hyuga?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up and a smile snaked across his face "You are certain?"

"I am"

"Good, my best team is at your disposal. Go"

Suitably dismissed Kabuto bowed, thanked his master in as grovelling a way as possible without being annoying made his way out of Orochimaru's office. He smirked as he walked, he had known the chosen ones location for sometime but had not given her up yet, he had known that the search for the axe would take a while and so had been ready to offer up the chosen one as consolation for his inability to discover the final piece. He knew that Orochimaru's wrath could be great and he dared not risk it, not after so many years of work.

They were in a small hamlet about five days travel from Konoha, it was small and due to the bad ground they had at one point been very poor. The village had welcomed Kabuto and his promises of wealth with very little trepidation. The addition of Orochimaru had caused a few uncertain looks but it was surprising what a few gold coins would do to calm a towns mind.

Their current residence was the house belonging to the governor of the small community, the house was the best in the village but by their standards was rather low accommodation. Orochimaru's return from the 'dead' meant that he was unable to use chakra. His current body had very underdeveloped chakra networks and while it had been a convenient transfer it meant releasing Kabuto from his requirement in keeping his master alive. Of course all this also meant that Orochimaru was just as dependant as ever on his wonderfully subservient henchman.

Ever since he was a child Kabuto had been raised as part of the religion dedicated to the desert of blood. The bespectacled known that part of his destiny was to serve the tyrannical monarch and he had barely been able to believe his luck when he had met and begun to work for Orochimaru. Unfortunately Orochimaru had no wish to pursue the plans of Kabuto's religion, he had claimed to have no need for an un-dead army when he himself was able to live an eternal life. When Orochimaru had been defeated by Sasuke and felt his own weakness he had begun to pay more attention to Kabuto's idea's, it had not taken much for him to be convinced to follow it up.

Needless to say Kabuto had been thrilled

He had been following his religion all the time he had served Orochimaru and had kept a wary eye out for articles that may be of interest. The cup and the axe he had discovered in a museum a month before his first entry to the chunin exams, he had then tracked the cups movements never losing track of it. The axe was an other matter of it, when it had been sold he had been completely unable to find the buyer, it made him angry but he was sure to find it, the amount paid for it had been substantial and very few people had that kind of money. He just needed more time.

He had found the chosen one with more ease than he had thought he would. He had grown up with pictures, statues, mosaics and tapestries of her likeness surrounding him. The instant he had seen a young Hyuga sitting next to Naruto in the written part of the chunin exams he had known. He had later heard about her almost dying during her battle with her cousin and had known from that point on that he would have to watch over her. He had purposefully placed himself close to her in the stands and when she had shown signs of illness had immediately come forward to help.

Under his guise as an ANBU he had healed her in a way that Tsunade would be envious of, he had poured his heart and soul into that healing not showing under his calm façade how important it was that she survive. Luckily a lot of the healing had been done, the girl just needed rest.

Stretching out a map Kabuto viewed his position, in order to avoid Suna he would need to travel around some hills making his journey longer… of course he already had a team hidden in Suna… he could send out a message via carrier bird tonight, it would arrive sometime in the morning at the very least he would have a team leaving Suna by midday.

Moving quickly Kabuto wrote out the message, including within it the name of one Hinata Hyuga and a correct photograph (obtained secretly a few years ago whilst doing reconnaissance). There was no way that team could get the wrong girl and if they arrived in Konoha before him then they would have time to set things up for him. Selecting his swiftest bird Kabuto sent the message and watched it go with a sigh of satisfaction.

By noon tomorrow (perhaps earlier) a team of his men would be headed to Konoha moving at their fastest.

Life was good sometimes!

--

It was at six in the morning and the sky was still dim when the Konoha shinobi left their hotel rooms and gathered outside the large building. There were mild complaints from various people, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru in particular, but none of them were unused to early mornings and long travel and so they weren't too violent in their opposition to the early start. In fact they were just about to leave and head for the front gate when a shout from behind stopped them.

"Kiba, Shino!" Hinata smiled happily at her team mates as they ran up to bid the leavers goodbye.

"We just thought we'd come down to see you off" Kiba announced slinging an arm around Hinata and crushing her into a hug "You look after yourself ok?"

"Kiba we've done stuff without each other before"

"I know, but you guys are transporting…" Kiba paused looking around surreptitiously around "her, to Konoha. You could have trouble."

"There'll be at least four ANBU level guards protecting… her" Hinata copied Kiba suspicious movements "and there are seventeen of us. I'm pretty sure we can handle it"

As they continued talking the large group made their way towards the gate, as it was still early there was no one to notice the oddly large group moving through the village streets. Speculation was rife amongst the ninjas about who the 'chosen one' would be. Would she be young? Old? Beautiful? Ugly? Most of the guys reasoned that she must be pretty hot if she made a man start a war after her death.

Walking at the back of the group Hinata and Ino caught snatches of the conversation, a few of the comments made Hinata flush red and Ino start to laugh. When they got to the gate all their questions were answered, in front of them were a group of four all dressed in long dark robes. They appeared to be men. Behind them stood a young woman in her early twenties, her hair was blonde and hung in loose curls around her shoulders. She was tall and slim, her face was pretty but she had a small scar on her right cheek.

It was the scar that reawakened a certain Konoha genius's suspicions. Shikamaru had known for a while that something was going on with Ino and Hinata and he was beginning to suspect that the rest of them were being kept in the dark about something they had been told that the chosen one was civilian. This pretty girl looked exactly the kind of girl that he and the others had been imagining in the role of the 'chosen one' but right now she looked too like an experienced ninja to be a mere civilian.

"Morning everyone" Temari was at the gate to greet them looking as though she hadn't actually slept since she had last seen them "This is Hiromi, you all know how important she is. These are the security we've picked out, names are unimportant, they will follow Sai's orders as will you all."

"Aw man" Naruto moaned, he hated having Sai being leader. Of course a part of him was happily thinking 'well at least it's not Shino'

"Shut up Naruto, that's Naruto, and Sai" she turned to the Guards and pointed at the blond and the pale dark haired man beside him, she then went on to identify each person in turn, if she stressed Hinata's name a little more than the others or that all the new people to the group immediately focussed their attention on the Hyuga only two people among the Konoha shinobi (both members of what was still sometimes called team Asuma) really noticed.

Neither members of the Shika-Ino-Cho combination were surprised though. Ino had guessed about the decoy and Shikamaru was long passed guessing now. He knew what was going on.

"…now you will follow the route we've picked out for you. So that you can all travel at a speed you are accustomed to Hiromi will be on horseback. Most of your journey will be on the roads but a small section of forest will hinder you. You all know how important it is that you get home safely. Here put these on…" Temari handed out long brown robes with hoods, to most people it would make them look like common travellers. According to her travellers were common on the roads Temari had picked and would be quite unremarkable and therefore harder to trace.

With looks of distaste everyone pulled on the robes, pulling up her hood Hinata was more than able to guess why Temari had chosen them. The brown materiel hid her face almost completely, all their faces were hidden, they were each unidentifiable. So much work was involved in her protection, suddenly being 'the chosen one' was the worst thing to happen to her in a long time, and that included all the years of mistreatment she had endured at home.

"Well you're all ready to go, stay safe" Temari gave them the nod and then the seventeen leaf shinobi and five sand shinobi made their way through the gate. Once through all those on foot began to run whilst the woman on horse back dug in her heels and they shot off in a canter.

* * *

I kinda wrote the Naruto Shikamaru conversation as an afterthought, I thought it would be funny to acknowledge that in other situations it is unlikely that all these shinobi would love each other but of course I'm writing NaruHina as soul mates that transcend all situations and lifestyles.

Please R&R


	7. The defence

Sorry that it's been so long since I was here but I am ridiculously busy with exams, I will update ASAP

I do not own Naruto

* * *

In the last tax census for the hidden village of Suna they took note of who belonged to what religion. It was listed, in this survey that there were under 50 people in the population that were complete members of the cult 'Desert of blood' and none of them belonged to the ninja ranks. Of course not everyone was completely honest when filling out their personal information, that was why for so long a small group of nine men amongst the ANBU elite in Suna had managed to stay hidden.

It was to this small group that Kabuto's messenger bird flew to, it arrived just before noon easily evading the checkpoints that normally intercepted incoming mail.

Upon seeing his minister's bird the ANBU captain Kazuo took the messenger bird into his hands gently stroking it's feathers. "Good boy" taking hold of the birds leg he removed the small scroll attached there. Opening it up he stared at the message, upon reading it he smirked. His orders were clear and it was nice to finally be getting some action, they had been in hiding here for practically ages. Within minutes he was gathering together the loyal followers to tell them the news.

In addition to the thirty nine other members of the cult all seven of the other ANBU not on missions were there, as was usual at these meeting a solemn silence pervaded the air as wordless greeting were exchanged by the members. After everyone that was likely to attend had arrived Kazuo made his way to the front.

"We have a message from the Divine Oracle" anyone that had been hitherto ignoring the man at the front looked up immediately paying attention to him. "The cup remains safe and there is still no news on the axe."

A person in the crowd whispered "Is that all?" to their friend earning a harsh glare from the ANBU members.

"There is more, The Chosen One has been identified." there were gasps as everyone took in the news and slowly the photograph that Kabuto had included was handed around the room.

"Hey, she was here yesterday, I saw her in town." a short young woman who had until now been silent stood holding the photo shock written all over her face

"You're sure?" Kazuo asked moving forwards

"Where?" one of the other ANBU asked moving towards the girls as well

"In th-the restaurant where I waitress" feeling nervous at the cold stares she was receiving from the men she trembled as she handed the photo onto the next person. "Sh-she was there with the Kazekage and his family"

"Then she is still in town?"

"I d-don't know, th-they were staying at the hotel in the centre of town, th-the one where they let visiting dignitaries stay when they visit."

"Good work child" Kazuo smiled graciously on the young woman before turning back to his men "Check the hotel, if they're still there one of you return to inform me and the others stay watch, if they have left we make all haste to Konoha, that's where she is most likely to have gone."

--

The team moved through the woods at the slowest speed any of them could ever remember travelling at. Travelling with a horse over the streets and roadways made a civilian distinctly faster but on rough terrain filled with trees, it slowed them right down. Luckily they were only going to spend a short amount of their journey in the forest and they'd be back on the road eventually. Knowing this Sai looked up at the sky, it was dark, late evening. Within an hour they would be out of the forest but… the forest would be a good place to stay tonight. Plenty of trees for cover, plenty of space in the clearing up ahead to make camp(they were an unusually large team), plenty of ways to set up defences.

Besides, he wanted to talk to this… chosen one, he was not by any means a genius when it came to people and their behaviour but he knew enough about them to know when they are hiding something..

Holding up a hand the dark haired leader called a halt to the journey. Behind him the horse stopped and was immediately surrounded by three ANBU whilst the rest of the walkers came forward to talk to him.

"We should set up camp soon" Sai said decisively, they had been travelling for most of the day and with a civilian journeying with them he was sure that they would need to stop earlier than usual. "There is a clearing near here, it would be an ideal place to stay for the night."

There were nods of agreement from the others.

He assigned work to various people, setting up tents, building a fire, preparing food, checking the perimeter. As soon as he had made sure that everyone was busy he moved to stand beside 'the chosen one'.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course" the young blonde woman turned to him and smiled "What is it you wish to talk about?"

"Look," Sai sighed "I'm not exactly smart when it comes to people, I don't know a lot about how to behave around them or what to do in certain situations but I am a shinobi, and I know a decoy when I see one"

For a split second the girl looked ready to argue with him but the stern look on his face made her reply honestly "We're not entirely a decoy" Hiromi admitted "I'm a decoy, but this team is not."

"I do not understand"

"I'm ANBU, like the others, I'm actually part of the Kazekage's main guard. However one of the people on this team is the chosen one and needs protecting. She knows who and what she is but we don't want the enemy to know. The robes hide our faces enough that she may go unnoticed for some time but basically if they saw that one of us was being protected more than the others then they'd try to grab that one person first, with me along for the ride the first person they'll go after will be me and I can more than look after myself. I am also willing to die if it means protecting my home from the unholy army of the dead" Hiromi said the last part with such serious anger that Sai was surprised, did people really believe the myths and legends this much?

Looking up into the trees that surrounded him Sai wondered about what had just been said, it was a good idea to continue travelling as they were and knowing that the woman beside him was actually a trained ANBU meant that in a fight they had at least one more member to rely on.

"I need to know who the target is."

"It's not up to me to tell you"

"I can tell him though" Sai and Hiromi turned to find Hinata standing behind them, they were a little nervous that she had been able to walk up behind them without being noticed "Sai's right, he needs to know what's going on."

"So it's you" Sai asked he seemed surprised but it didn't really sound like he was actually asking a question.

"Yes, Ino knows as well, she's the one that worked it out. I'm sorry we deceived you."

"It was an understandable plan" Sai nodded easily accepting Hinata's apology "but I do not feel the same need for secrecy as you do. It is unlikely that anyone will trace Hinata as the chosen one."

"My eyes give me away, the chosen one is supposed to have my eyes, the Hyuga eyes. That's why Temari made a big deal out of us wearing the robes, they cover our heads and hide all of us Hyuga, we could all become a target if they see us."

Moving around checking the perimeter with Ten-Ten Neji who had been keeping his Byakugan active for the last few minutes suddenly stiffened saying quickly "Behind us"

Immediately Ten-Ten was on alert, one hand reached for the nearest kunai in her pack as she turned to look in the same direction as Neji. "How many?"

"I see five, no…, seven they're Suna shinobi but that could mean anything, could be an attack or could be messengers or extra protection"

"How far away?"

Frowning Neji made swift calculations based on the speed and distance "Fifteen minutes at best"

"Let's get back to the others."

The moment Neji and Ten-Ten arrived back at camp their companions could feel the change in their attitudes. Hands went to weapons pouches, defensive stances were dropped into and the ANBU guard surrounded the area where Sai and Hiromi stood with Hinata.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked as he returned to the site dropping the firewood he had collected

"We have company, we've got about ten minutes."

"Shikamaru?" Sai turned to the resident genius "Opinions?"

"Everyone keep your hoods up" Those who had allowed their hoods to slide off their heads secured them back in place "We can't send really Hinata on alone, we all need to stick in teams…"

"Hiromi" a frowning Ino corrected quickly "we can't send Hiromi on alone."

"Of course, that what I meant" Shikamaru rolled his eyes before continuing "we need to stick together, I think it would be best though if the ANBU travelled on with Hiromi and Hinata, we'll keep the rest at the bay as you make your way on to Konoha"

"Yes sir" the collective agreement from the rest of the group was quick as the Suna shinobi and Hinata gathered their things together

"No, we stay here"

Turning everyone was shocked to see that one of the ANBU guards that had been assigned to them had unsheathed his Katana

"Heero?" Hiromi and the rest of the team turned to stare at their team-mate

"Don't act so surprised" Heero smirked at the group "I am a loyal follower of the Desert of Blood, we will have our uprising and we shall reign supreme"

"You can't do this" Hinata argued "Think about how many people will die needlessly, there is no point to this, Gaara is a good leader you do not suffer under him"

"No but there is still crime and wrongdoing and we are contracted to villages beneath us, Villages like your own my lady."

"We may be beneath you but I bet we can take you on" Naruto growled everyone else were standing ready to fight

"Just a second Naruto" Hinata said over her shoulder "Listen Heero, human's mess things up…, all the time we mess things up, do you really think that by killing off most of humanity you'll make it better? It'll just get messed up all over again. This doesn't have to happen this, isn't the right way to do it."

"My girl, I have been a member of this religion since the day I was born, my parents raised me to this. I have indeed questioned every way around this but did you know that when the Magnificent Monarch, (known to you as the tyrannical monarch) ruled the people of Suna were the richest most peaceful and most powerful village…"

"You were ruled by a cruel man who could execute whoever he wanted whenever he wanted."

"It worked" the man shrugged carelessly.

"You know what? I've changed my mind" eyes blazing angrily Hinata turned back to the others "Lets get him."

"Stay behind me Hinata" Naruto grabbed the girls hand and pulled her out of the way "I'm totally kicking this guys ass."

With a shout that could probably be (and unfortunately was) heard for miles around Heero swung the Katana and headed for Naruto. It was an unfair fight considering that it was sixteen to one but on the sudden turn by their leader the ANBU appeared very uncertain about what to do.

--

Hurtling through the trees at a slapping pace a war cry momentarily paused the seven Suna shinobi, "Kazuo did you hear that?"

"Heero" Kazuo nodded immediately sprinting in the direction the sound had come from. The seven all began to run as well making their way towards the fight involving the Konoha nin and their team-mate.

--

Naruto was first in the way of the Heero's assault but with a swift movement he ducked below the sword making a hand symbol and uttering quick word under his breath. Five Naruto's appeared around the original, the new Naruto's moved as quickly as their master slipping around Heero ready to jump on him in a barrage of fists and feet.

Watching Naruto Sasuke was quick to see the genuine article moving to deliver a kick to Heero's face, unfortunately Naruto didn't appear to have noticed that Heero had managed to unsheathe a small dagger from his belt and was about to strike at him. Pitching himself into the fight Sasuke took hold of Heero's wrist and with a sharp twist disarmed the man. In seconds Heero managed to change the position of their wrists and taking hold of Sasuke's managed to throw Sasuke out of the brawl.

Seeing Sasuke emerging from the fight and about to plunge into the nearest tree Lee moved quickly grabbing the Uchiha's arm and wrenching him away.

Unable to check if his friend was alight Naruto was still fighting with Heero, the man had successfully dispelled three of his clones. Naruto was tempted to create more but as he was thinking this a voice cried out "NARUTO DOWN!"

Ducking Naruto was just in time to see the wave of Shuriken that hurtled above his head towards Heero, one of his clones got hit in the attack and disappeared but for the most part the small sharp pieces of metal went straight for Heero.

Jumping back and using his sword to deflect as much of the weaponry as he could Heero glared at the newest addition to the fight.

Ten-Ten stood over her scroll holding another catalogue of missiles and before Heero could prepare himself for the fight wave after wave of kunai were headed his way. He managed to deflect most of the arsenal, however two kunai hit him in the arm holding the Katana, whilst another buried itself in his stomach. Heero let out a cry of pain and his weapon dropped to the ground, turning his angry eyes on Ten-Ten he was about to attack when a new person joined the fight. Leaping gracefully into the mix Neji stood between his team-mate and the attacker, a small smirk played around his lips as Heero ran forward. Obviously the guy didn't know that it was usually a good plan to avoid close contact or hand to hand stuff when fighting a Hyuga.

Heero was in a bad state but it was his anger that drove him forward, he was in blind rage towards the smug young woman that had attacked him with such a calm demeanour and now some smirking prig had decided to get in the way. He was ANBU for gods sake, these kids should be… child's play.

Byakugan active Neji's first strike hit Heero in the shoulder, he could see which arm was weaker and would cause more pain to Heero, he wasn't dealing well with his injuries and Neji needed to use that in order to win with ease. The strike to his shoulder did indeed stop Heero as the man fell to one knee clutching the area most filled with pain. Not even thinking twice about his next action Neji delivered a devastating kick to the mans throat crushing his windpipe. Heero fell to the ground gasping, face cold and emotionless Neji picked up one of the fallen Kunai from the ground, walking forward he knelt and without a seconds thought slit Heero's throat.

"Nice going…" a gasp from Hinata silenced Naruto's grinning compliment, turning away from Heero's fallen body they were all shocked to see one man walking into the clearing. He wore ANBU uniform with a Suna symbol around his upper arm.

"I see you have managed to take down one of our group" Kazuo glanced briefly at Heero's body "but I'm pretty sure that the rest of us…" at those words six other people leapt down from the trees, they were all strategically placed around the clearing making escape very difficult. "can keep you busy. Now you can either decide to fight us or hand over the chosen one."

"Damn!" Sai made some quick calculations, they were still at least two to one but… the Suna ANBU were looking nervous, Sasuke, Neji and Naruto had already been hand to hand…. "Form a circle" he yelled, instantly everyone the Suna and the Konoha nin formed a tight circle facing out at their assailants "Ok, two or more on one, attack those closest to you, got it?"

"Yes sir" a quick assent calmed Sai somewhat, they were all ready to fight, even the Suna nin had moved and responded like he wanted.

"ANBU Make sure the chosen one is protected" Sai told them, glancing back he could see that Hinata had two of the Suna ANBU on either side of her, Hiromi was beside him he could only hope that the others didn't start asking questions and get curious during the fight, that would make them sloppy.

"Yes sir" The ANBU stayed staring ahead but nodded obediently.

"Tell us where the chosen one is, give her to us"

"We're not going to make it that easy on you…GO!" at that word the circle broke and everyone ran forward. Neji and Ten-Ten beside each other headed for the main man together, Lee was with Sasuke they knew each others style inside out and made the perfect combination to attack. Sai stood with Hiromi, he knew nothing of her particular skills but as he pulled out ink an paper ready to attack Hiromi moved speedily forward to attack. The Shika-Ino-Cho combination worked together as smoothly as always, the three looked almost happy to fight as Chouji began the first barrelling attack. The two Hyuga Nana and Kazuhiko stuck side by side for their fight attacking in the gently fist style and not letting up for a second on their opponent. Standing near Sakura and their unknown ANBU partner was a highly suspicious situation, they weren't sure they could even trust him, Naruto was, despite this he allowed the ANBU to move ahead of him as he desired to letting the ANBU to deliver a punch in the style of Sakura.

Nervous but determined to fight despite her need for protection Hinata stayed with the two ANBU, as one moved forward the other leant down to whisper to her "stay behind me, I know you're fighting style, we'll move well together" Hinata nodded grimly as she followed the unknown man into the fight.

The group had to concentrate on their fights as the sound of metal on metal filled the air, cry's of pain or dismay often reached each others ears. It took all their will power not to turn away from their own fights to check on each other but Hinata allowed herself to be distracted as she heard Ten-Ten gasp Neji's name.

Turning from her own fight Hinata saw Ten-Ten fall to the ground one hand on her stomach, her attacker quickly leapt away from Neji whose anger was palpable and disappeared back into the forest.

Leaving the two ANBU to their fight Hinata dashed to Ten-Ten's side "Are you alright?"

"Neji" she whispered staring off to where her team-mate had gone "he can't manage alone"

After a quick healing jutsu Hinata inspected her friends wound but found that she should be alright she just needed to remain still. "Here" Hinata looped one of Ten-Ten's arms over her shoulder and pulled her away from the fight, once they were inside the forest she handed her one of her weapon filled scrolls "sustain a jutsu to hide yourself, stay back here, I'll go after Neji"

Not thinking twice Hinata turned and activating her Byakugan bounded towards Neji and his attacker.

Neji was pissed, he was not usually so easily defeated but his anger at Ten-Ten's being wounded had blinded his usually excellent sight. Upon following the attacker he had soon discovered why the man had run this way as he stumbled into a preset trap. Now he was injured badly, his arm was in searing pain and dangled uselessly by his side and the man he had been chased him was holding him easily by the throat as he held him up to face the clearing where the fight continued. "Where is she?"

"Wh-who?" Neji choked out, this only made Kazuo

"You know who, the chosen one, the one you were transporting away to Konoha"

Neji looked into the clearing, most people had lost their hoods or discarded their robes during the fight and he couldn't see Ten-Ten anywhere. "Can't you tell" he hissed not wanting to fully give in to questioning but desperate for the pain to stop. "Don't you even know what she looks like?" he asked slightly defiantly

"She's not amongst you, I do not see her"

Ok that didn't make sense, Neji could see her plain as day "She's the blonde woman fighting beside Sai" Neji hissed out angrily

"That is not her, now tell me where the chosen one is or you die"

"I thought that was the chosen one!" Neji exclaimed angrily, he didn't understand what was going on, were they just a decoy all this time?

"Then you die" Neji was thrown to the side sending him into a nearby tree, his body fell limply to the ground as he cried out in distress, the injury from his arm was filling his whole body with throbbing pain making even lifting himself up seem like an impossibility. Looking up he saw Kazuo moving forward and katana in one hand. Neji closed his eyes as his attacker descended on him

Metal hit metal and before Kazuo knew what was happening a small female figure robed in brown with a hood concealing her face had used a single kunai to deflect his attack. The woman then stood protectively in front of Neji.

"Out of the way or I'll kill you"

"Oh really" Hinata chuckled lightly as she stared at her attacker "you really think you're going to kill me?"

"Yes"

"Aw, sweet" hidden by her hood Hinata reactivated her Byakugan

Suddenly she moved at a speed that rivalled Lee's as she delivered a chakra stopping punch to the mans upper left arm. Her leg swung up at the same time delivering a similar kick to the right arm. The man went flying backwards but twisted easily in the air and landed on his feet to face her.

"Neji!" Hinata moved back, keeping her eyes on the enemy all the time she squatted beside him. "Are you alright?"

"At least three ribs broken, my legs bleeding badly but luckily no arteries seem to be cut, I think from the pain my shoulders dislocated."

"Stay there" Hinata turned to face Neji's grinning opponent "I got this"

"No, Hinata you must leave! If you are hurt…"

"I won't be... well not too badly" Hinata stood to face the sound Ninja "Believe it or not, I can handle this"

Smirking Kazuo crouched muttering something, immediately the plants around them began to shake. A blast of sound headed for the two Hyuga dragging up the earth as it went. Grabbing Neji's arm Hinata leapt through the air, the two of them landed in a tree about five metres away. Dropping gracefully to the ground with her cousin still in her arms Hinata immediately became apologetic.

"Oh I'm so sorry Neji!" she had been dragging him by the dislocated arm, grabbing his shoulder with one hand his arm with the other and setting her knee at his back Hinata pulled Neji's arm swiftly back into place.

"It's ok Hinata" Neji's face was whiter than usual as he clutched at his arm but he had not made one single cry of pain "Thank you."

"Anytime" Hinata meant it, dropping to her knees she pulled out the a kunai "He can use sound… that's so implausible" looking over at her opponent she smiled "He can use it but it drains him… why did he use it now? Against me?"

"Hinata, if he can use sound"

"By the looks of his chakra he can't, I think he wanted to disable and question me" Turning to smile at Neji Hinata stopped her Byakugan "Look I'm going to move you out of the way then go back ok?" it wasn't ok and though Neji allowed Hinata to move him a safe distance away he argued about it constantly, he would have kicked up a real dust about the situation had Hinata not reminded him that noise would bring their enemies down on them.

Leaving her cousin Hinata leapt through the forest back to where she had left Kazuo, leaping down in front of him she smirked lightly "I don't think the rest of your team are doing to well in the clearing."

"We want the chosen one"

"You aren't getting her!" Hinata shook her head angrily, she really hoped the others were doing alright.

"Then I guess I can kill this one" Hinata gasped as the masked man held Ten-Ten up for her to see, the brunette was hanging limply in his grasp covered with cuts and bruises, she looked a lot worse than when Hinata had last seen her. "Tell me where the chosen one is"

"I'll go one better" Hinata offered "I'll show you her." Lifting her hand up Hinata pulled off her own cloak and let it fall to the ground.

"The Chosen One" For a split second it looked like the man was going to bow but before he could do anything Hinata had darted off through the forest.

Kazuo dropped Ten-Ten without a second thought and ran following the young Hyuga as she led him away from the clearing, her friend and her cousin. He needed that girl, the chosen one, she looked almost identical to the photograph Kabuto had sent her but the important thing was that he couldn't hurt her too badly. They needed her alive until they had found that axe. Catching sight of a flash of brown through the trees Kazuo ran towards it, he was quicker than her through the trees, whilst she with her eyes could see where she was heading he just needed to follow her. Moving at great speed to catch up with the young girl Kazuo succeeded in catching Hinata by the arm and wrenching her back. Hinata cried out but as she was pulled back her hand swung around and the Kunai it held slashed across Kazuo's arm.

Angry Kazuo threw Hinata painfully to the ground and allowing himself to give in to the rage swung his leg into her stomach and kicked her. She curled herself into the kick as she rolled and bumped across the forest floor stopping as she came into contact with a tree.

Bruised and bloody Hinata pulled herself to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain she faced her opponent. His chakra was gathering again, she recognised that pattern from earlier, he had done that just before he released that blast of sound at herself and Neji. She didn't know if she'd be quick enough to move this time. She only had one option if she was to stop this. Holding her hands together she began to focus the chakra in her palms, this attack always took a lot out of her but she had no kunai left, a great majority had all been taken out of her pack during her previous fight and she had dropped the last on during her trip across the floor.

This was her only option. Launching herself forward Hinata began to run, once more her speed was at it's fullest as she swiped down at the sand ninja. Her hands sliced by the sand nins arms with amazing accuracy. No outward injuries were visible and for a split second Kazuo looked gloatingly at the girl. He then tried to raise his arms and couldn't.

"What the hell?" he looked down at his seemingly unharmed arms

"On the outside you look fine" Hinata explained "but I have sliced through your muscles and cut off your chakra to your arms you can no longer move your arms or control sound like before. Now it's just you, me, and my bloodline trait. You got no chance…" running forward Hinata started to pummel the man continually in the face. He tried to block her but Hinata could see his every movement and when his hands slowly moved so did hers at a greater speed. Finally with one swift kick to the face he went flying across the ground colliding with a tree,. It wasn't as impressive as Hinata or Neji's collision with a tree but it was much more final. Walking forward Hinata stood ready in case he was to make another move but she could see that his chest had stopped moving and his pulse was fading away. He was in pain, a lot of it, dropping to her knees she placed her hands on either side of his neck and with a quick application of pressure she snapped the bones.

Breathing heavily Hinata turned, she needed to get back to the clearing, she needed to make sure everyone else was safe. Turning she began to limp back to the clearing.

--

Still in a great deal of pain Neji moved towards where Hinata had run to, he may be in pain but it was his duty to protect Hinata, not because she was a member of the Head family but because she was his cousin and he owed her that much.

Limping across the floor he was surprised to find not a fight but his team-mate

"Ten-Ten?" moving faster now Neji dropped to his knees by the bound girl and pulling a small knife from his pack cut through the ropes that held her, the bindings looked swiftly done as though the person who had tied them had done it in a hurry, had Ten-Ten woken up it wouldn't have taken her long to escape from them. Looking her over he couldn't discover any obvious wounds, there was a lump on the back of her head and a small scar where she had been hit earlier but it was almost healed. He gathered her into his arms intending to carry her back to the clearing but found that he was unable to stand.

"Neji?" turning Neji smiled at the newcomer

"Sakura…, she's been hurt." he looked down at the woman in his arms with concern in his arms.

"So have you by the looks of it" Sakura examined Ten-Ten and as her hands glowed behind the young girls head Ten-Ten's dark brown eyes began to flutter open

"Wh-what happened?" Ten-Ten asked looking at the two smiling faces

"Someone hit you." Neji told her carefully

"No duh!" Ten-Ten shook her head and moved away from Neji "I know, I was out of the fight, Hinata left me to come find you… is she ok?"

"I don't know" suddenly Neji was stricken "I came looking for her but found you."

"Guys!!" looking up Sakura was just in time to see Ino and Sai land by Neji as Naruto and Sasuke landed behind her

"Excellent" Sakura smiled at the group "we need to find…"

"N-Neji?" Hinata questioned as she walked through the trees, she was weaving a little as she walked as though she was very dizzy

"HINATA!" Naruto ran over to the young girl "Are you all right?"

"Naruto-to kun?" despite his closeness Hinata gazed at him vaguely as though she couldn't see properly.

"Who else would be this loud?" Sasuke asked looking around at the damage that had happened to the three people "Who came after you guys?"

"Hinata are you alright?" Naruto could see Hinata wavering a little

"Fine… just a little low on…" air rushed past Hinata's face as she started her descent to the ground, she didn't have the energy to stop herself so she was grateful when two strong arms caught her. "N-Naruto-kun" she asked again staring up into his face before giving into darkness..

"Lady Hinata" seeing Hinata's faint Neji thrust Ten-Ten unceremoniously to Ino and shuffled to his cousins side, he arrived just after Sakura. Staring down at the still pale face he did something very rare, "please" he begged "help her."

"Don't worry, I will" the kunoichi knelt beside Hinata and placed her hands over Hinata's neck, soon a green haze enveloped her hands and the gash on Hinata's neck began to heal he. "Looks like she did that attack, stupid girl!!"

"What attack?" Neji asked intrigued.

"Hinata has been training for some time in medical ninjutsu" Sakura spoke decidedly "Upon learning about chakra scalpels she started to create and attack that appeared to me to be a mix of medical ninjutsu and taijutsu. She turns her hands into something called a chakra scalpel, with it you can cut at muscles and arteries without causing any external injury, of course a normal shinobi would have trouble locating things like that in the heat of battle but with the Byakugan Hinata is able to see exactly where to cut. Amazing really. It's just very, very draining using the Byakugan and chakra scalpel at the same time. Lets get these three back to camp" Naruto stood carrying Hinata whilst Ino and Sai helped Ten-Ten and Neji to walk back to the clearing. Once there it was obvious that the fight was well and truly over, one of the ANBU that had travelled with them and there were quite a few injured. Only one of their attackers was still alive obviously for questioning and a fire had been started. Chouji was cooking dinner for the team under the not so strict watch of Shikamaru. They had laid out sleeping bags for the night deciding to forgo the tents for now deciding that it was just an extra worry and that they'd prefer to sleep outside and be ready for an attack.

It was on a sleeping bag closest to the fire that Naruto laid Hinata "Will she be ok Sakura-chan?" he asked worriedly

"I'm fine" Hinata muttered groggily shifting in the blonds' arms and more comfortably into the bag "shame r-really, if I had died here everything would have become easier"

"What?"

Only Ino, understood her comment, "Don't say that Hinata, we have no idea what's really going on here."

"That girl?" Neji asked pointing at Hiromi "She isn't the chosen one"

"Yeah?" Naruto stared at the Hyuga surprised "so who is?" Again the most of the group were confused.

"OK" with Naruto's help Hinata pushed herself up to sit "No Hiromi is not the 'chosen one'."

"Ok so if Hiromi is not the one they wanted, then why are you guys even with us?" Lee asked looking at the ANBU.

"No I'm not the chosen one, but the chosen one does travel to Konoha" Hiromi explained "She needs to get there for her own safety, we need her protected."

"Hiromi" Ino leaned forward handing the decoy a picture she had taken from one of the group "they had this on them…"

Hiromi took the photo and stared at it, silently she handed the picture to Sai "Then they know what's going on" Sai's eyes widened as he recognised the picture of Hinata, it was definitely no coincidence that these men had overtaken them then.

"I wish I knew what was going on" Sakura muttered

"Shut up Sakura. Basically the chosen one is Hinata!" Ino spoke quietly before she turned to her friend "As soon as you're ready Hinata we need to get you out of here. First thing tomorrow you should take the horse, get out of the woods, and then ride, don't stop till you're home. We'll follow on, on foot"

"You?" Sakura looked at her quiet friend surprised "But you're from Konoha!"

"The Hyuga had to come from somewhere, we arrived where Konoha is now at about the same time as the first Hokage. We were a wealthy family and helped bring in other clans and get them to move to Konoha. That's why the Hyuga are so powerful, we practically helped build the village, of course we made our homes the best! Before that we came from all over the place and at one point we resided in the desert."

"But how do you know for sure that you're the one they want?"

"She is" Ino stated easily not bothering to give out the details

"Right well the main thing here is to get the 'chosen one' away" Hiromi finally spoke up "I am pledged to protect her."

"I knew your chakra was too developed for you to be a civilian!" Sakura said accusingly "So it's your job to protect Hinata?"

"It's your job too!" Hiromi pointed out

"We would have protected her even if she wasn't the chosen one" Naruto spoke angrily "We look after each other, they could have been honest with us."

"We were hoping this wouldn't happen" Hinata explained "You see the minute it's known that it's a Leaf ninja that is the chosen one it will cause more problems. The plan was to transport Hiromi there and then get me safely hidden. There was always a chance that they wouldn't…" Hinata trailed off realising that she was giving too much away.

Curious Shikamaru looked at Hinata but unlike the others who's looks were invasive he seemed to be merely assessing the situation "We are assigned to protect the chosen one. That's what we need to do Sakura can she be moved?"

"As long as she's not the one doing the moving then yes! She needs a lot of sleep and a week or two of rest but she should be ok to travel tomorrow" Sakura nodded using some more chakra to heal Neji "She should be ready to go tomorrow morning"

"I'm not going to do that. I won't leave you all behind" Hinata argued

"Oh yes you are" Naruto stated then, knowing Hinata well, he appealed to her selfless side "Asides from anything else you're endangering us by staying with us…"

Hinata tried to argue but found she couldn't, she couldn't ever really argue with Naruto, damn him and his persuasive blues eyes.

"Look we'll talk in the morning" Sai decided looking around him, we'll eat and camp here tonight and decide what to do when we awake.

"What about him?" one of the ANBU asked referring to the prisoner that had lain listening to all this.

"Let me deal with it" Sasuke moved forward and strengthened the bandages on the man, with a few quick hands seals he placed a seal upon the prisoner and immediately the man was still. "he should be frozen all night now. We'll need to keep a watch."

"I'll take the first watch" Ino offered "I'm the least exhausted here"

"Good, we'll talk more in the morning."

* * *

Ok my first kind of big fight scene, probably useless but I'd love some feedback!

Can you see where I screwed up?

R&R


	8. The council

Sorry that it's been so long and that this is so short, but I am ridiculously busy with exams, I will update ASAP but lets all look forward to the end of June when it'll all be over with.

I've recently realised why I love Sai so much, he reminds me of Data in Star Trek The Next Generation! The whole, no emotion thing and trying to understand humans, experience feelings, of course asides from anything else they're both really pale!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Waking up the next morning Hinata was immediately aware of her status change from 'escorting' to 'escorted'. The others were all sitting around the fire talking as they made the breakfast. She felt nervous as she climbed out of her tent dressed and ready for the day, she wanted to be a part of their discussion but she knew that as she was under their protection they needed to make plans without her.

"Good morning" she spoke quietly approaching them slowly.

"Morning" the responses were stilted, only Ino seemed completely comfortable with the situation, she gave the Hyuga a grimace before walking over to hand her some breakfast. Hinata sat uncomfortably beside Neji and Sai trying not to draw attention to herself an impossible feat right now. She ate quickly wanting to move away from the group that were treating her so differently.

"We've made some decisions concerning our journey home" Shikamaru told her seriously as she ended her repast "You and one of us will be going ahead on horseback, it'll be quicker and if you get attacked you'll have plenty of energy."

"I can still look after myself" Hinata muttered angrily

"That's as maybe but we need to confuse any other people that may be following us. We're going to split and head off on different routes."

"Hinata have you been bleeding?" Sakura suddenly asked

"What?" Hinata stared at her friend confused

"You've got some blood..." Sakura moved across the circle and kneeling in front of the Hyuga brushed just underneath her headband. "It's dried, lets take you're forehead protector and take a look..."

"No" Hinata moved back she raised her hands dropping her plate and remaining crust of bread in the process "It's probably not bleeding any more I'm sure it's fine."

"It needs to be checked" Sakura responded surprised at her reaction

"Let her do it" Ino interjected seriously as she stared at her friends "Hinata... A head injury may lead to problems later, besides they may as well know the full extent of what's going on."

"Why? It doesn't affect my performance"

"No but you can't keep acting like this." Ino smiled supportively as Sakura carefully removed the Hitae-ate

"Hinata?" Sakura gasped staring at the seal that covered the one time Hyuga heiress's forehead. "What happened to you?"

All eyes turned to them and focussed upon the green mark Hinata was now sporting. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air, as Hinata wracked her brains and tried to find someway of changing the subject but she couldn't think of anything particularly clever or distracting enough. It wasn't until Ino walked over that the tense situation was diffused. Totally ignoring Hinata's seal she walked forward and looked at the cut on the girl's forehead.

"Now this is easy healing, what up with you Sakura, too slow??" Ino asked smirking a little at Sakura as she placed one hand on Hinata's head to heal and the other on her arm in a gesture of reassurance.

"Ino did you not notice what Hinata has on her head?" Sai asked curious as to why Ino was not acting surprised like the others

"What's the matter Sakura?" Ino finished her healing and turned to smile at her friend "you afraid she's gonna take the title of forehead girl away from you?"

"Shut it Ino pig!" Sakura yelled angrily

"Lady Hinata?" Neji stared at his cousin in shock "When did this occur?"

"Did you not know?" Hinata asked surprised "I thought… I thought you would have been told, the others..." she looked over at the other Hyuga who merely nodded in agreement.

"I did not know..., how could they do this to you?"

"Oh come on Neji" Ino groaned "everyone knows what you used to think of Hinata, how much you hated her being the heir, surely you're thrilled now!"

"Do I look thrilled?" Neji asked his eyes still fixed on Hinata

"Um…" moving directly next to Hinata Ino stared right at Neji "I'm not sure, what do you two think?" she turned to look TenTen and Hinata. TenTen moved to stand on the other side of Hinata and all three girls looked at Neji "You know him better than I do. Is that thrilled?"

"It could be thrilled" TenTen muttered, all three girls tilted their head to the left as they looked at the Hyuga prodigy, after a few seconds of silent contemplation their heads simultaneously moved to tilt to the right "He looks like he could be thrilled"

"I agree" Hinata nodded a slight smile on her face "you see Ino he has the same expression for everything so yes, he could look thrilled right now"

"Not everything" TenTen argued "he has the same expression for everything except annoyance. I've been on his team a long time and I've seen annoyance, hell with Lee and Guy on our team of course I've seen annoyance on his face"

A slight twitch, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye strained at Neji's jaw. It was so small almost no one noticed it but upon seeing it TenTen and Hinata both pointed smiling "Now that's annoyance"

"Enough!" Neji commanded angrily turning away from the giggling girls and towards the group struggling not to laugh "Sai, when do we start?"

"Hinata and her protector leave now on horseback, the rest of us will remain here clear up camp before leaving in separate directions."

"I don't need a protector" Hinata argued "and I can walk."

"Riding will mean you have more energy if you are attacked. Get on the horse" Sai commanded with ease.

Oddly enough quiet little Hinata seemed ready to argue "Look I…"

Making an exasperated noise Naruto walked forward and picking Hinata up in a sweeping gesture he then moved towards the stallion. Everyone else watched on amazed as Naruto threw Hinata up into the saddle that Hiromi had now permanently vacated. Hinata was momentarily stunned and didn't even begin to struggle with him.

"We can't send her alone" Sai decided

"You can't send me anywhere" Hinata argued again, she was still flushed but her brief silence was broken now that Naruto had moved a safe enough distance away.

"You're going now" Naruto told her angrily, he didn't understand why she was arguing. Didn't she want to get home safely? "Sai, who's with her?"

"You are"

"What?" Naruto frowned surprised at the decision

"W-w-what" guess who!

"Naruto you go with her, ride with her" Sai informed him again.

"Why me?" Naruto wasn't unhappy to be travelling with Hinata but he had expected Sai to send someone a little more... analytical to travel with her.

"Because, and I'm not sure why, Hinata wishes to argue with me about going. I've noticed, and again I'm not sure why, that when you are close to Hinata she is unable to talk and therefore argue. You will take her we'll clear up here, hide any evidence of a fight and go in different directions so as to confuse any others following us."

Hinata flushed bright red after Sai said this statement and stammered out an incoherent argument consisting primarily of the two words 'I' and 'No'. Naruto merely smiled widely and nodded, walking over to their tents he picked up their packs.

"Does that mean I leave all the clearing up to you?" he focused the statement on his friend/rival

"Shut up" Sasuke glared back at the blonde who headed over to the horse and swung himself up to join Hinata.

"You know how to ride?" Naruto whispered into her dark hair as he noticed a major flaw in the current plan

"Y-yes" Hinata tried to stop herself from trembling and lower her pulse as he wrapped his arms around her waist. This was a great way to stop her from being killed by the axe because at this rate she was going to have a heart attack.

They rode together for quite a while, Hinata soon discovered that as she concentrated on directing the horse and watching the pathway through the woods her blush receded and she was soon able to converse easily with him as she would when they were just sitting together.

"I'm tired" Naruto moaned as they continued trotting slowly through the woods, soon they'd be on the roads and they'd really be able to get moving but until then he found the slow movements tiring.

"After that nice refreshing sleep last night?" Hinata asked smiling at him her pink cheeks flushing a little darker as she turned to see him looking over her shoulder.

"Unlike you I had watch last night and I pulled seven acorns from my ribs"

"What about this wonderful fresh air?"

"My jaw aches because my teeth are chattering in the cold breeze"

"The song of the birds accompanying our ride?"

"An owl hooting in my ear all night."

"Your determined to be miserable aren't you?" Hinata asked grinning as she looked ahead, they were treading carefully through the trees and she needed to keep her eyes forward no matter how much she wanted to remain looking back.

"Maybe" he teased happily, she was responsive to this sort of banter where he was deprecating and she needed to talk him out of his mood. "Just until we can really get moving"

"Well luckily for you we're almost through" Hinata carefully directed the horse out the last of the trees and onto a nearby road "We're about to go a hell of a lot faster now so h-hold on ti-tight" Without another word Hinata dug her heels in and, the horse, rearing slightly, began to canter down the roads.

-

-

"We will have to speak with Hanabi about her new status soon" one of the Hyuga elders spoke with quiet determination as he sat in council. They had gathered together to discuss many issues and were ending (as usual) with their most pressing problem, the initiation of Hanabi as the clan heiress.

Oddly enough for a long time Hiashi had been reluctant to speak with the girl about her promotion.

"She needs to remove herself from missions that take her outside the village and begin her training" another elder agreed

"I believe it would be best if her sister is here when we break the news" Hiashi decided. He was aware that Hanabi needed to be spoken to but he was conscious that she would have many questions.

"Very well" the original elder nodded pleased that Hiashi was finally making the decision they all wanted. It had taken a lot of work to convince him to even brand his first born. "When is she due to return?"

"I am unsure. As I understand it there was a message from the group at Suna a while ago" Hiashi turned towards one of the branch members standing in the room with Kenji a questioning look in his eye "It was addressed to you."

Kenji bowed respectfully "It was, there was no news as to when they would return"

"Then we must wait, we are in no rush" Hiashi nodded "are there any other issues?" No one made any indication that there was more to discuss "Very well, dismissed"

Every member of the council bar the branch member rose and shuffled from the room, Kenji remained, head bowed in respect until everyone else had left. Once the sound of movement had stopped Kenji raised his head and looked around. Everyone else had gone, now was the time to leave. Slowly he made his way towards the door and left, he walked quickly through the Main Branch houses towards the branch area. Once there he walked into a room very similar to the main councils meeting room, the branch council awaited him in patient silence.

As soon as Kenji arrived the group of twenty stood and bowed, he responded in kind smiling at the council in front of him. He was always very conscious of their age in comparison to himself, most of the people before him were between the ages of forty to seventy and he was a mere thirty two.

"I apologise for my lateness, the main councils meeting ran longer than I expected."

There were murmurs of understanding as he took his seat, as soon as he was sitting everyone else followed suit.

Kenji was the most prominent member of the Branch family, he was their spokesperson in the main council, he attended council and answered questions about what the branch family could do and when, he also occasionally fought their case against something that seemed to unfair, he rarely argued, but occasionally more food was needed to be provided to them. The person chosen for this job was democratically voted in, they needed good persuasive abilities, they were needed to argue properly and once the branch member on the main council had managed to stop an unfair execution. It was a risky but rewarding job.

"Nothing today was discussed that will affect us negatively so you will all forgive me if I cut to the chase today" Kenji looked around and no one appeared to have a problem with his request. "Soon Hanabi will be told of her renewed status, we all know that this will mean Hinata moving under our protection, Kazuhiko and Nana are remaining with her till she returns. Hichiro have you been able to assign a guard?"

"We have a schedule set up and round the clock guards, their rooms surround hers."

"Excellent, we do not want her to be aware of her status before it is totally necessary. It is important that the Main house do not discover what is happening here. I will call today's meeting to a close early, I want us all to get to work. I apologise for wasting any time but I believe the sooner this is all done then the better prepared we shall be."

Immediately everyone began moving, Kenji nodded to various members as they left sighing heavily once the room had cleared. The branch council were usually more relaxed but the recent theft in Suna had put them all on edge, there was much to do and very little time to do it in.

-

-

They had been cantering down the roads for a long time now and Hinata was looking tired. So was the horse for that matter. In the distance he could see a small bridge over a small stream, making a quick decision he informed Hinata that he needed to stop and Hinata pulled on the reins slowing the horse down so that they reached the stream at a less slapping pace.

"We should rest and have something to eat here" Naruto informed Hinata in response to her questioning look after they had dismounted. The horse walked lazily down to the river whilst Hinata and Naruto sat easily on the grass and looked around.

"No one's around for miles" Hinata stated her Byakugan momentarily active.

"I know, it's nice isn't it?"

"Yeah" Hinata sighed a little, sitting having a picnic alone with Naruto should have made her the happiest person on the earth but instead all she felt was misery.

"What's wrong?" Naruto had instantly picked up on his companions' lack of enthusiasm, she wasn't normally extremely cheerful but she wasn't usually miserable.

"Nothing"

"Hinata" he gave her a look wiggling his eyebrows making her chuckle lightly.

"Ok it's something"

"Obviously" she still didn't appear to want to say anything so he moved closer saying coaxingly "Come on Hinata, it'll make you feel better to talk about it!"

Sighing Hinata nodded "Do you remember the chunin exams, where you beat Neji?"

"Of course, I really pounded him! Why?"

"That day you two argued about fate and destiny… right?"

"Yeah"

"I've just been thinking about my fate recently, my fate could be, to be… to be sacrificed, my destiny is to l-love some… warrior prince that I've never even met and be part of some stupid scheme to take over the world and… all I want to do is be me."

"So be you" Naruto told her taking one of her hands in his "Don't let this stuff get you down, do what you want, be who you want and love who you want." For once Naruto noticed the blush on her face and recognised it for what it was "I mean you must have someone you like…" she said nothing staring down at the grass with an intent gaze. "You do don't you?" he teased her gently trying to work the situation as best he could.

"M-maybe" her voice was so low he almost missed the response but he decided, there and then, that he wasn't going to back down on this one. Once they got back to the village Hinata would be under the 24hour watch of the Hokage and the Hyuga to say nothing of the guard she would need, he might not get this chance again for a long time.

"That's good, I have someone I like too"

"Yeah we all know" Hinata sounded ever so slightly bitter now "Sakura, right?"

"Nope"

"No?" Hinata was surprised into looking up, immediately she was caught in the intense hypnotic stare of two sky blue eyes.

"I like someone else" Naruto's hand shook a little as he raised it to brush at her soft silky hair. "Someone very different from Sakura, in some ways they're similar, they're both pretty, strong, and clever but the one I love is sweet and kind, she's also got the most amazing pearl like eyes."

"R-really?" Hinata blushed redder as he stared at her, try as she might she couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Really, and if you asked people who I was fated to end up with she'd be last on the list because she's just too damn good for me. And it's probably a very foolish move but I think… I think I'm about to kiss her" not waiting for a response from the flustered girl Naruto placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

As he pulled away Naruto almost laughed at the dazed look on Hinata's face, she seemed so dreamy eyed that if he hadn't known better he'd think she'd just woken up.

"N-N-Narut-to" Hinata stuttered nervously unable to look away from his eyes "Wh-why did yo… when d-did… Why…?"

"You didn't want it?"

"No… I mean yes…" finally Hinata just pressed her hands over her eyes and sighed "I can't th-think straight when you l-look at me like th-that."

"When I look at you like what?" he maintained the look determinedly moving a little closer.

Lowering her hands Hinata hissed "like that" before covering her face again.

"Sorry" Naruto smirked but didn't change the rest of his expression as she lowered her hands and shot him an angry glare

"Don't apologise unl-less you m-mean it."

"Okay" she was about to cover her eyes again but Naruto grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to him "but I want to ask you something"

"Ok-kay"

"Hinata, will you go out with me? On a date, an actual date, you me in a restaurant and then… I could walk you home, maybe kiss you goodnight?" he smiled teasingly as she flushed

There was a long pause "I'd like that" she whispered staring into his eyes and finally allowing herself to get lost in them, they actually seemed to be getting bigger… no they were getting closer. Naruto was moving in to kiss her again.

Slowly Naruto released his hold on Hinata and gently cradled her head with his own hands, for a split second he gazed at her lips before closing his eyes and kissing her again. Hinata's hands pressed against his chest not pushing him away just keeping the contact as their lips slowly moved together. He backed away again opening his eyes and looking at her "You're so beautiful" he whispered before kissing her again.

Hinata felt close to tears as she reached the dizzy heights of extreme happiness but instead of weeping and ruining the moment she moved her hands from Naruto's chest and slowly reached up to his neck to cling to the material of his collar.

They really ought to be moving on… but then again… she didn't see what harm another minute or two would really do.

Actually, make that half an hour

* * *

Not my longest chapter ever but exams are killing me... literally!!

Please R&R


	9. The puzzle

I'm back baby!

I have excuse after excuse for why this took so long but please no one hate me, besides, this thing averages out a 4 reviews per chapter, not my most popular fic. Really it was a bit of writers block, I knew what I wanted to happen but couldn't seem to write it properly. I'm juggling about three long fics right now and it's tricky to find time to write them all

I have also edited the chapter before this, I realised that there were two major characters called Heero (I don't know all that many Japanese names) so Heero Hyuga is now Kenji Hyuga.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

The return of Hinata and Naruto alone to Konoha raised many questions, they walked through the gates Naruto leading the horse and Hinata riding. Once they were through the check point he didn't let them stop, he merely walked, ignoring any questions and leading the horse through the streets until he arrived at the hospital. Once there he helped the ever blushing Hinata down from her saddle and slipping an arm around her waist led her inside.

Despite her stiff muscles caused by her injuries Hinata was torn between the desire to appear strong in case her father was anywhere nearby and the need to keep Naruto's arm around her.

Wisely she said nothing and allowed him to lead her inside.

She smiled meekly as nurses rushed forward directing Naruto to let go and allow them to take over, she smiled at the regret he showed at leaving her alone but there was a promise in his eyes that he'd be visiting the moment he got the opportunity to. Upon leaving the hospital Naruto found the horse still there, he was briefly confused as to what to do with the animal. He didn't even recall ever seeing a horse in the village, what does one do with a horse when you were done with it?

Deciding that he would deal with this conundrum later Naruto (and the horse... did it even have a name?) proceeded towards the Hokage tower he needed to report to Tsunade all that had happened in Suna and what the rest of the shinobi that she had sent out were doing.

"Come on Sasuke" he muttered to the horse pulling him on, he grinned as he got a slight harrumph in response, he had chosen the right name, it was just like a conversation with Sasuke. He couldn't wait to share this joke with someone!

-

Team Gai travelled with the rest of team Kakashi ensuring that they left enough marks to be tracked but not enough to be obvious, Neji and Ten-Ten were taking up the rear so that Neji could keep watch for anyone following them "Hinata will be fine with Naruto" Ten-Ten reassured her unusually distracted team mate as they travelled swiftly through the forests and towards their home village.

"I do not doubt his ability to get her home safely"

"Then what has you so worried?"

"I am not worried"

Immediately Ten-Ten stopped running and stood on one spot, seeing this the stoic Hyuga stopped and walked back to face her "Neji, I know you. Your hands are clenched."

Looking down at his hands Neji gave a stiff nod "It is not Naruto that is concerning me."

"Then it's Hinata's seal" she guessed correctly, she got another stiff nod in response

"She'll be alright with it."

"You can't know that." He hissed angrily. "The seal is very restrictive, you..."

"I meant she totally forgives you for hating her when she was younger. Nothing will change between you two."

Neji turned from her feeling surprised, he hadn't meant that but she was right..., part of him was fearful about how Hinata would treat him now. The two of them had a good relationship, they weren't exactly close but it worked, they were friends in the only way he knew how to be. There was an unspoken understanding, a mutual respect, hell, he even liked her.

"I do not like that someone I spend so much time with can read my emotions so easily" he informed Ten-Ten angrily

"Well tough" she replied smiling widely "Because I've been with you for a long time Neji and you aren't getting rid of me anytime soon."

"Is everything alright?" Sakura's voice came through the trees ahead of them, the rest of their group had noticed their stop and were now waiting for them.

Raising her hand Ten-Ten acknowledged her friend "I'm tired, I just needed a break" she called back.

"Ten minutes" was the response and ahead of them their friends began to settle down to rest.

"And now we have ten minutes for me to psychoanalyse you some more!" Ten-Ten told Neji triumphantly.

-

Tsunade and Naruto stood in Hinata's hospital room talking, Naruto had explained the situation as easily and quickly as possible (an impressive feat considering how odd the whole thing sounded), he told her what had happened in Suna, he described the attack with gusto, he explained how they had managed to return home without any extra issues, how Hinata had been whisked straight into the hospital and placed on bed rest (he left out the bit about their brief stop by the river) and how he was stuck with a horse as a result. Tsunade had at first assumed that Naruto was joking, the idea that Orochimaru had returned seemed near impossible and the story was so completely outlandish that she had marched the blond to the hospital to have Hinata refute the story.

Unfortunately Hinata found no fault with the story and only added a few events that she had been present for and that made the story more solid.

"I just can't believe it all" Tsunade muttered "Orochimaru? Of course Neji can't be wrong and he wouldn't lie about that. And that mosaic Hinata and her team saw does confirm what Ino thought. Still… it seems so unlikely!"

"I'm just worried that Kabuto will know Hinata" Naruto added "he was at the chunin exams with us, he might not remember her but then again..."

"The you're right he might" Tsunade agreed "Well she's going to need to stay in hospital for a few days"

"During that time we need to keep Hinata under strict watch" Naruto stated simply as he stood in front of Tsunade.

"You could stop talking about me like I'm not here" Hinata muttered unhappily from her bed. It really bugged her that Naruto and Tsunade were standing at the end of the bed discussing things without even referring back to her once.

"Shush now!" Tsunade informed her before turning back to talk to Naruto "We ought to put out feelers for that axe. There must be someone in this village that knows about it. I know the legend doesn't affect our village as much but their must be someone who knows the story"

"And we'll need to keep the nature of Hinata's involvement in it completely secret. Not even her clan should be told"

"I can tell my clan if I want to" Hinata interjected

"Shush now, slaves aren't supposed to talk!" Tsunade teased with a smile on her face.

At that moment the door to the room swung open and an impatient looking Hiashi walked into the room closely followed by the head member of the branch house

Any plan Hinata may have had to tell her father everything flew out of her head there and then. "Father" Hinata sat up and bowed as best she could before tuning to Kenji and giving him the same polite head nod. "Kenji-san."

"Hinata-san" Kenji bowed politely in response

"How is she?" Hiashi questioned Tsunade totally ignoring his pale and sickly looking daughter.

"Hinata is merely suffering from chakra exhaustion, and some muscle damage, I also suspect a possible concussion so we'll be keeping her in over night maybe a little longer"

"Very well." Hiashi turned to Hinata with a frown on his face "I assume that this means you will be back to take up your duties soon."

"Um..." Hinata turned to look nervously over at Tsunade

"No" Tsunade cut in "I am afraid that whilst on her mission Hinata.... gathered some information essential to another mission, she will need to work with me as soon as she is well. I must ask that she receive no duties from her clan whilst she is serving her village."

"Can we spare her Kenji-san?" Hiashi asked turning to the branch member with him. He knew that he couldn't really argue with Tsunade about her request, Hokage outranked clan head considerably but he wanted to appear in control of the situation.

"I will find someone else to take on her duties, it is no problem." Kenji responded with a bow to Hiashi and a friendly wink to Hinata. She grinned back at him, their Hyuga style pleasantries were mostly for show around the main house members, she actually got along well with the branch family.

"I must also inform you that due to the sensitive nature of the mission she will need to be protected at all times, I suggest that I place her in protective..."

"Do you believe the Hyuga are incapable of protecting even the lowest members of their family?" Hiashi asked angrily.

"Not at all" Tsunade responded slightly amused at how personally the older man had taken the suggestion and really annoyed that Hinata was one of the lowest members of the family. "But..., despite your assuredness that you can protect her. I'm assigning three ANBU guards to her room at night, there will be a less obvious guard during the day but, I also want you to stay with her Naruto"

"Me? Why me?" Naruto asked pleased, but slightly confused by the request.

"Yes. Why him exactly??" Hiashi asked glaring at the demon boy

"Hinata and he know each other well and someone needs to work with her on this information, it needs to be someone who won't be noticed, a friend she would normally spend time with, in cases like this I would usually recommend a member of her team or family but her team are in Suna for a while and if Hinata was to start spending a lot of time with her family members it would seen very odd, she spends most of her time away from the Hyuga complex. Naruto, I want you to stay at the hospital in the room next to Hinata's. I'll set it up." As the Hokage looked at him Naruto nodded obediently

"I would like to assign a Hyuga to protect her instead." Hiashi spoke quickly not wanting Tsunade to leave his daughter in the care of Naruto, no matter how low he thought his daughter was he didn't want her associating herself with Naruto.

"You can assign a Hyuga to protect her as well" Tsunade offered "that way if either one ever wanted a break it would be possible."

"Fine" Hiashi agreed angrily knowing that there was no other way "Kenji, arrange it."

"I will" Kenji responded easily but his face showed real concern.

This was bad, did Hinata know? After Kenji left the room he immediately made his way towards the Hyuga complex, he needed to gather together the branch councils as soon as possible. It would appear that Hinata's status as chose one had been discovered, it wouldn't be long before the cult members that resided in Konoha (and he knew for a fact that there were some around) came out of the woodwork. He had a lot to do and very little time to do it in.

Hiashi was in a similarly agitated state of mind as he walked back home, Hinata was far to close to Naruto. He admitted to himself that placing Hinata into the branch family had been his wisest decision in a long time but he did not like that loss of power it gave him. You see, despite the fact that Hinata was under his command as a clan member in order to make Hanabi the heiress he had had to disown Hinata completely. This meant that he could give her orders as a leader but not a father, father might have at one point outranked the Hokage, parents had often been able to dispute the Hokage when it came to who their children worked with but, now of course, he was not Hinata's father and Hokage outranked clan head. Tsunade had more sway over Hinata than he ever could hope to achieve.

"I am not in favour of that boy being with my daughter" Hiashi muttered quietly to himself. "perhaps it is time to reveal to Hinata just **what** her friend actually is."

--

Ino Shikamaru and Chouji were the first to return to Konoha, they had been teamed up with Kazuhiko and Nana and had taken the most direct route home following Naruto and Hinata's path almost identically. Thanks to the speed Naruto and Hinata travelled at they only managed to arrive the morning after Naruto and Hinata got back to Konoha. The Hyuga seemed particularly eager to get back and had made sure that they didn't stop until they got back. Ino was pretty exhausted, she watched the Hyuga with impressed eyes as they carried on walking quickly towards the Hokage tower. The Ino Shika Cho team decided to take a quick pause before joining them.

"I wish I had their energy" she muttered to Chouji who nodded in agreement.

Shikimaru watched as Ino pulled her hair out of it's ponytail and shook it out "How did you know?" he asked seemingly randomly

"Huh?" Both his team mates turned to face him questioningly

Chouji scratched his head "What are you talking about Shikamaru?"

"Ino knew that Hinata was sealed and that she was the chosen one, I want to know how she knew."

Ino gulped audibly before shrugging "I was told"

"Don't pull that" Shikamaru argued almost angrily "You and Hinata are close but she wouldn't tell you a secret she was too afraid to share with her cousin."

"It's not important"

"I think it is" The two of them tried to stare each other down but the usually lazy Shikamaru could be surprisingly determined when he wanted to be.

"Fine" pulling her hair back into it's normal style Ino began to walk into the town, Chouji immediately hurried on as well trying to keep up with her as she began to explain how she had worked out that Hinata was sealed and that she was a party of the legend.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Chouji asked when she finally finished her tale "You're always telling us stuff we don't want to know, this we'd have actually cared about"

"Cheers Chouji, as much of a gossiper as I may seem I do have some restraint! Look, Hinata didn't want anyone to know about her seal and it was for her own protection that no one knew she was _the chosen one_." Ino whispered the last part in a low voice "Now we know where two of the main aspects in order to bring forth the army of the un-dead are, one is in Orochimaru's clutches and the other is here. All they need to do is find the axe and somehow get Hinata out of Konoha and we might have a sacrifice going on, quickly followed by an army of murdering unkillables."

"You can't really believe that's true" Shikamaru argued "you always laugh at that stuff."

"I also used to think past lives and reincarnation was laughable, now…" she shook her head "It may just be that Hinata had a lookalike in the past, and that the names and personalities all being the right ones are coincidence but… what if they aren't. Do you want to risk Orochimaru having an unstoppable merciless army under him?"

"It's not exactly on my list of top ten things **I** wanna see" Chouji agreed looking at Shikamaru, the other member of the team appeared to be lost in thought "Shika?"

"I think the axe was brought by someone who knew exactly what was going to happen. This could either work for or against us"

"What do you mean?" Ino asked urgently

"There are two reasons for having that axe, either to stop Hinata from being sacrificed or, to help Hinata be sacrificed. Unfortunately we don't know which reason the people who purchased the axe were thinking of."

"Having the axe would be an impressive bargaining chip" Chouji looked at the other two as he said this "think about, if you think this is going to happen you could ensure yours, and your family's safety by ingratiating yourself with Orochimaru and providing the axe."

"Or you could sell it for a high price to the people wanting to stop it happening." Ino agreed "That's probably another reason why Temari and Gaara don't want the chalice's disappearance to be public knowledge, once everyone knows the cult is on the move if the person who has the axe has it for mercenary purposes they'll make a move as soon as they knew."

"If only we could work out who has it, what do we know about the people who brought the axe?"

"They were rich enough to pay in cash to hide their identity"

"Well that reduces it down to a possible thousand clans, feudal lords or daimayos" Shikamaru sighed "This is almost impossible to work out."

"Only almost" Ino agreed "let's face it, the money had to come from somewhere, it would have been in a bank or treasury at some point."

"Anyone smart enough to use cash would also be smart enough to rake the money out over a long period of time." Shikamaru's head hurt, there were very few puzzles he couldn't' solve but, this one, this one he had almost no clue about. "Let's go see Tsunade, see what she has to say."

--

Lying in her hospital bed Hinata was bored, she didn't like spending time in hospitals and she hadn't slept long last night. She had spent most of the night staring out the window nervously watching for any disturbances, once or twice she had been tempted to go in and wake Naruto so she would have someone to talk to but she didn't think their relationship was anywhere near close enough for her to do that yet. Besides Tsunade had told her to stay in bed and she wasn't the type to rebel and do as she liked, this was also the reason she hadn't used her Byakugan to see if Naruto was awake yet, Tsunade had told her not to use her Chakra until she personally said she could… well that and common decency.

She wished that there was something to do, this was why people hated hospitals, there was nothing to do or see, all you could do was look out of the window and the view wasn't exactly inspiring. The Hyuga guards that passed by every now and then only served to make things more annoying as she used them as time markers.

The knock at the door was a welcome interruption and Hinata called out a 'come in' straight away.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" the blonde that walked in through the doorway was far more welcome than any other interruption would have been.

"Naruto!" Hinata's face brightened up as she saw her final bodyguard. He was about to come in when someone grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back out, there was a short conversation that Hinata caught snatches of, mainly Naruto saying things like 'I'm allowed in here' and 'ask the Hokage.'

"Let him in" Hinata demanded to whoever was stopping him, she did her best to make her voice sound cool and hard. It seemed to work because after she gave her order the person keeping Naruto back fell silent and allowed the blond boy to enter the room.

"Hey Hinata-chan!" Naruto repeated as he edged warily towards the bed feeling he had felt very intimidated by the seven Hyuga and one ANBU that were either outside the door or circling the building. "Looks like you got enough protection to last till doomsday!"

"Yeah, they've been patrolling all night, I wouldn't mind if only they had brought something with them for me to do! I'm bored as hell here!"

"Oh… well I haven't brought anything either" Naruto muttered apologetically "hey wait!" searching his voluminous pocket Naruto cried out triumphantly as he pulled out a deck of cards. "Know any games?"

"Not really" Hinata felt bad that Naruto's idea was pointless all because she didn't know how to play "sorry"

"Why are you sorry?" Naruto asked plonking himself down on the end of the bed "If you already knew games we'd play them for an hour and then get bored. As it is I'll have to teach you, that takes more time!"

"Yeah and means **you **can cheat!" Hinata laughed accusingly

"Maybe!" Naruto teased as she shuffled the cards

"Don't think you can fool these eyes" she told him severely "It'll take a real skill for you to get away with cheating."

"Alright I won't cheat" Naruto held up his hands defensively "the only problem is that I know mostly gambling games like poker and blackjack but don't worry I won't turn you into Tsunade!"

"Tsunade?" Hinata cocked her head to one side "what do you mean?"

"Oh yeah, most people don't know!" Naruto chuckled as he started dealing "When we have some privacy" he glanced around the room cautious of the many eyes that were probably watching them, leaning in he whispered "I'll tell you all about Tsunade being the worst gambler in the world!"

"S-sounds good!" Hinata whispered back blushing a little at the closeness of Naruto and the hint of them spending time together alone.

"Are you feeling ok you look flushed?" Naruto asked holding noticing the blush, he now knew that it had nothing to do with her being ill but he decided to feign ignorance because it was more fun that way.

"Just a little warm" Hinata lied shrugging it off "they won't let me open a window."

"What…? In case the enemy send invisible, flying, midgets to take you away?" Naruto asked deciding that that would be the only thing that could fit through the small and incredibly high up windows without being seen by the Hyuga's

"Shh!" Hinata hissed placing a hand over Naruto's mouth "don't"

"What?" Naruto asked surprised by her actions

"You're not allowed to call them invisible, flying, midgets" Hinata deadpanned "It's politically incorrect."

"Oh really?" Naruto nodded seriously "so what do we call them now?"

"Invisible, flying, vertically challenged, people" she kept her face straight as she said this making Naruto chuckle.

"Well are they expecting invisible flying vertically challenged people to come after you?"

"No" Hinata shook her head "But you never know!" Naruto smiled, he and Hinata were very different people but it looked like opposites attracted in this case, he had always known that Hinata had a fun playful side but it took some coaxing on Naruto's part to bring it out of her.

"Almost forgot" Naruto muttered moving forward and dropping a quick kiss on her lips, "You look beautiful today" he wanted the kiss to be a longer one but Hinata's father was obviously not a fan of Naruto, (or at least he guessed he wasn't from their interaction yesterday) and he knew that the Hyuga were likely to be keeping a very close eye on them. He grinned seeing that Hinata immediately blushed at the contact.

"Y-you look good too" Hinata muttered embarrassedly

He grinned at her sweet statement "Aw thanks Hinata" he shifted to get comfortable on the bed and began to shuffle the cards "So poker?"

"Poker" she agreed

Naruto smiled reminiscently to himself as he set out the cards, he had been taught this game by his sensei, old Jiraiya had really loved this game… well, he only **really** loved it when he was playing it with pretty girls and then it was usually a type of poker that he couldn't teach Hinata… not today anyway.

* * *

Please don't hate me for the shortness, and please R&R


	10. The secrets

To answer loyal Yakul not everyone knows that Naruto is a jinchurikki, the Suna trio know, as does Sai but neither Hinata nor the rest of the Konoha twelve officially know (some have worked it out *cough*Shikamaru*cough*). More will be explained in this chapter, and if you have any other questions please ask.

I keep thinking about going back and re-writing this fic as people have some issues with it but I hate when people do that in the middle of putting it all up, it's taking me long enough to write the blooming thing! I'll probably rewrite it at another point in time, you know when I don't have to worry about a job and studies at the same time!

Thank you everyone else that reviewed, I would answer you all but my internet access is intermittent at the moment and I usually end up going into coffee shops to use their access. Oh how I miss the days when I could lie in bed and use my laptop.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

It was late when Naruto got ready to leave Hinata's room, only he and the ANBU were around at this time. He and the Hyuga babysitters had only been allowed inside Hinata's room during visitor hours even though they were still stationed in or around the hospital. They had spent the entire day together and she had been so nice to him, Naruto smiled as he watched her settle back against the pillows.

"Good night Naruto-kun" she blushed as she noticed him gazing at her, the entire day had been filled with playful banter, heartfelt compliments on his part and shy blushes on her part.

"Good night Hinata… Hey Hinata?" Naruto had been about to leave but stopped and came back into the room looking sheepish.

"What is it N-Naruto-kun? Is something wrong?" Her expression immediately changed to worry as he stood indecisively at the door.

"N-No, not exactly" Naruto shook his head and she relaxed and smiled at him

"Then what is troubling you?"

"It's… it's about the seal on your forehead."

"N-Naruto…" Hinata immediately looked away from him "P-please don't tell anyone I…"

"I'm not going to tell people I was just gonna say… if your father ever tries to make you do something because of that seal…, well…, just come see me and I'll make sure that he doesn't" All throughout the speech Naruto had stared down at the ground where his foot poked at the linoleum. There was a pause after he spoke and looked up hoping he hadn't offended her at all.

Stunned ivory eyes met uncertain sparkling blue "N-Naruto-kun?" Blushing flaming red Hinata nodded, she felt like crying because Naruto was showing such concern for her "Th-thank you."

"It's alright" he told her gently, he was pleased she hadn't taken any offence at his statement, he had been worried she'd take the offer as a suggestion that she couldn't look after herself. "I just want to keep you safe."

"You're a wonderful person Naruto, I'm honoured that you care about me" Hinata told him blushingly, Naruto's own colouring heightened at those words and he tried to shrug it off but she wouldn't let him, leaning forward she kept their eyes locked "I mean it, you're a wonderful person."

"I'll be next door" he told her leaving the room, once the door had shut behind him he leant back against it sighing heavily.

He had been feeling tense almost all day, he had been expecting to do something stupid that would make Hinata chuck him out of the room and never want to see him again. Or for her to hit him insulted by something he did.

She hadn't, she had been sweet, all his compliments (no matter how dumb they had seemed and probably were) were well received with a shy flush. Every story he told her was not met with boredom and impatience but with attention and laughter. He had to stop comparing all girls to Ino and Sakura.

"Are you alright?"

The Hyuga standing at Hinata's door gave him an odd look.

"Fine" Naruto made his way to his own room wishing that he could go home properly but glad he was entrusted looking after Hinata.

"Naruto!" The voice behind him made him turn, he smiled at the ino-shika-cho team as they walked towards him

"Hey!" he greeted them with a smile running down the corridor to meet them "Did you guys have any trouble getting back?"

"Unless you count annoying Hyuga's to travel with then no, none." Ino shook her head "how about you and Hinata, anything happen on your journey back?"

"Um… no" Naruto shook his head in denial that anything had happened but his huge grin told them that there was more to this than met the eye "Nothing happened…. No one… bothered us. Made it back safe and sound. Heh heh"

"Something happened" Ino stated looking directly at him "it was… between you and Hinata…" she watched as his blush grew "Ah! That's so sweet, you two make a lovely couple."

"How the hell did you do that?" Naruto asked surprised at Ino's apparent mindreading abilities.

"What a drag… it was simple logical analysis" Ino grinned as she imitated Shikamaru's voice "Oh and I didn't know for sure, you confirmed it for me. I can't wait to tell Sakura!"

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed angrily he and Hinata hadn't even had time to talk about what their status was and Ino was already wanting to gossip about it.

"Leave him alone Ino" Chouji pulled on her arm "you and I need to go get our prescriptions filled"

"OK, I'll leave him… for now. But I'll be quizzing Hinata about it tomorrow." Ino's grin grew as she allowed her team mate to pull her away from the frazzled blond.

"So" Shikamaru teased as he and Naruto were left alone "you gonna tell me what's going on with Hinata?"

"No" Naruto informed him trying to look aloof, the only problem with his pretending he didn't want to share the details was that he **really **wanted to share the details. He had a girlfriend, if you can say that about someone you've only asked out. Still he wanted to boast about how sweet and cute she was and that she was all his but, he really didn't want any of the Hyuga's to find out and get on his case about it. Hinata was dating the evil demon child, it wouldn't go down well at all! "How did Ino just work that out?"

"It's kind of obvious that something happened between you two, the way you said nothing happened, you didn't make direct eye contact, nervous laughter, your blush…"

"I didn't blush!"

"Ino just worked it out… she's getting good at that these days!" Naruto said nothing, Shikamaru looked at him, he seemed troubled, it didn't take more than a millisecond for the Nara to work out what was on his mind "I hate to ask a personal question but… Did you tell her yet?" Shikamaru asked "About… it?" he glanced down at Naruto's stomach as he spoke.

There was a long silence as Naruto turned to face Shikamaru, his eyes were wide and fearful "You know about… it?" Naruto questioned right back, not wanting to say 'the demon' but knowing that was what he had meant. He couldn't believe that Shikamaru knew, it seemed so impossible, shouldn't he hate him? "How long have you known? How did you find out?"

Shaking his head Shikamaru sighed as he pulled his cigarettes from his pocket and pulled one out "I'm a genius who witnessed you and Gaara talking in Lee's hospital room and saw you fight Neji with an unexplainable slightly demonic chakra, if I didn't work it out from that then I'm obviously not as smart as I and everyone else thinks."

Silence fell between them as the smile on Naruto's face dropped into a frown "No" he shook his head sorrowfully "She doesn't know. I was going to, I meant to." He shook his head trying to think of how to explain.

A year or so ago Tsunade had given him permission to tell people about his 'little tenant' when he thought it was necessary. So far he hadn't told anyone.

He had thought about telling Sasuke and Sakura but even with them Naruto had been wary about sharing the information. Part of him was pretty sure that Sasuke knew what the deal was and if Sakura wasn't 100% certain he wasn't about to verify the fact. He knew that when he told someone their attitude to him would change no matter what happened… at least that's what he had always assumed.

He stared long and hard at Shikamaru, could people really just treat him like usual if they knew? Shikamaru's attitude had never changed.

"Why not?" Shikamaru asked impatiently, he wanted to light up but he knew that it would be frowned on in the hospital. "She ought to know, you need to be honest with her."

"I know but… You see, I had it all planned out, I would tell Hinata about… it and then gauge her reaction, if she reacted badly I'd leave her alone for a while and try to talk to her again later, if she reacted well then I would tell her I liked her and everything would be fine. It wasn't much of a plan I know but it was a plan."

"It was a good plan" Shikamaru nodded, it was the only way the situation could have worked "So…? What happened to the plan?"

"I got scared, I realised that if she reacted badly she might run from me, she might refuse to ever see me again. I got selfish, I wanted to hear her say nice things to me, to be able to kiss her…, she's got such soft lips…! If I told her and she decided to never see me again then I would never get that chance. I know it was self centred but… I love her."

"You need to tell her"

"I know I'm just… I'm not looking forward to the moment when I tell her and her warrior prince arrives just in time to take her from me."

"That's just pessimistic, this is Hinata. What do you think she'd really do, because I like to think that maybe…, maybe she'd be ok with it." Shikamaru gave him an encouraging punch on the arm "To me you're still the same dumb Naruto I've always known"

--

The moment Kazuhiko and Nana had returned to Konoha they had gone straight to Kenji to tell him all they knew, the man called a meeting for the Branch member council at the earliest time the meeting could be arranged. The whole of the Branch house could sense that something big was happening when he called the meeting, the council members were told to leave their duties and inform the Main house that they had village work to do. Lying to the main house was usually unheard of.

"Honoured council members, we have known for some time now that Hinata's destiny was approaching its pinnacle. Her most recent mission to Suna has determined that the time to act is upon us, we have agreed for a long time that Hinata was to remain in ignorance of the great role she plays n our future but this has proven to be beyond our control. She"

"How sure are you that Hinata knows?"

"Completely sure" Kenji looked around at the branch council with an expression of great worry "Nana and Kazuhiko came to see me as soon as they returned to the village" he turned to look at them "Tell them"

Knowing that traditionally it was the men that spoke at these meetings Kazuhiko spoke nervously as he informed them of what they had discovered "In Suna, as you know we discovered that the chalice has indeed been stolen, at first we thought that was all that was known but as time went on it became obvious that Hinata knew more. We were told to return home protecting the chosen one, the presented someone to us saying she was the chosen one, it was an obvious decoy but not everyone knew it. On the way home were attacked, we defended ourselves but after the fight Hinata revealed herself to be the real chosen one. She seems to recognise how serious the situation is."

"Do you think we should inform her of what we know?"

Kazuhiko glanced at Nana who gave a slight nod indicating that she thought the other girl should be told. "Yes" he spoke determinedly but it was obvious to everyone who really knew what to do.

"Nana Hyuga" one of the elders faced the young woman "What is your take on this?"

Glad to finally be able to speak Nana made her case as clearly as possible "Hinata knows a lot she's also very worried about what's going on. It is also known by both the Hokage and Kazekage who she is and we know that Orochimaru and his minions also know who she is. When we were attacked they were definitely looking for her. She needs to know the full story and I believe it might also be time to approach the warrior prince."

"How sure are we that **he** is the warrior prince?" one of the council members asked

"I'm completely sure of it, he and Hinata are… close." Nana smiled to herself as she remembered Hinata's reactions to Naruto, if she was the chosen one and the chosen one was destined to fall in love with the Warrior prince then Naruto was definitely the warrior prince!

"That's a foolish question" Kenji spoke deprecatingly "We have known from the moment those two children were born who and what they were."

"Well we've been mistaken before." someone muttered

"We should have purchased the cup while we had the chance" one of the council members said thoughtfully.

"That would have roused to much suspicion, wanting the axe or the cup was one thing, wanting them both would have been obvious. The axe had a better collectors value and it was something that shinobi are more likely to want to purchase, it was better to purchase the axe and hope to find a way to destroy it." another elder responded and soon a fully fledged debate started up.

As voices became raised in discussion Kenji sat thinking, he had to agree that the former council had done the right thing when they purchased the axe, they believed that the chosen one and warrior prince had been born. It turned out later that they were wrong and the two would not be born for many years but they had acted rightly.

"We will send out messengers to the axe's guardians, they will decide whether or not the axe is safe. We will speak to Hinata" he decided, his statement silenced everyone around him and they all waited for him to say more "She knows what will happen to her if she is taken by the cult and she needs to know that we are here to protect her. As for the boy, it will be up to her to tell him, his life is in no great danger. She may prefer him to remain in ignorance."

--

After Shino and Kiba had been filled in on exactly what was happening they willingly led Temari to the temple they had discovered. In keeping with the secrecy that Gaara had decided was necessary for the mission only Temari and one ANBU went with them, The ANBU was in place merely as a bodyguard to protect Temari, Temari had argued long and hard with Gaara about the need for protection but he had fixed her with a long cold look and suggested she shut up and keep the one guard or he would stick a whole squad on her.

"Surely we could just climb down using chakra" the shinobi assigned to protect Temari asked as the arrived at the temple Hinata had discovered with her team. Kiba pulled a rope from his pack and smiled at the nin mockingly.

"We aren't at a wall here, this here is basically a hole in the roof" Kiba pointed to a spot about twenty yards away "That the nearest wall and the ceiling is hard to grip to. This is the quickest way down and this way we have an easy escape route if someone gets hurt we attach them to the rope and Akamaru just pulls." He grinned at the two Suna nins with him

Attaching a harness and rope around Akamaru keeping it tight but painless for his partner Kiba and Shino got ready to descend into the ancient temple again. With a reassuring smile Kiba patted his dog lovingly before putting his weight onto the rope.

"One at a time" Kiba looked around "He could hold more but the safer we do this the better."

"Anything you say" Temari agreed with a grin, she had always been interested in the history of her home before but had never been able to really study it. Most of her time when she grew up was dedicated to learning how to fight and protect her home, even now when she had more freedom she could rarely justify studying history.

Once at the bottom Kiba called up to the others and the next one followed him down, this time Shino and Kiba had made sure to bring lights and torches with them and Kiba began setting them up around the area where they would all touch the floor.

Temari was the third person down the rope and her eyes seemed to light up as she caught sight of the carvings around the columns.

"This is amazing" she whispered looking around as Kiba led the way into the mosaic room "these Doric columns are just like the one's in the museum of Suna"

"It wouldn't surprise me" one of the Suna nins agreed looking around "The Museum is made up mostly of old bricks and buildings that were discovered in the desert about a mile away. The Temples of old Suna were usually made up of more than just one building. An entire area covering several miles of land would be made into a site to visit that way people would make their way here in pilgrimage. There would be accommodation and at least three prayer sites. This temple is probably the only one left. Pilgrimage, the oldest form, of tourism."

"You know a lot about this kind of thing" Kiba questioned suspiciously

"I was brought up as a member of the cult of the desert of blood," the nin didn't seem to notice the shocked looks on everyone's faces as he spoke "my mother broke away from it completely when I was a kid but my father remained a member, it was a nasty divorce."

"And you believed your mother was right?" Temari ventured hopefully, Gaara would feel like such an idiot if they had brought a cult member here.

"No, you see there is so much truth to the legend that I had to believe it, but that doesn't mean I want to be ruled by a tyrant. There is a second section to the religion, we are dedicated to the protection of the chosen one."

"I didn't know that" Temari seemed angry at her own lack of knowledge "Kane, how did you discover the second section of the religion?"

"I cannot tell you…" he shook his head as though suddenly realising that he had said too much, his eyes took on a hunted look.

"You want to protect the chosen one right?" Temari asked immediately appealing to his protective instincts as well as his religious beliefs.

"Not only is it my duty as a shinobi to protect anyone in trouble but, to protect the chosen one. That is the whole basis of my faith, my life"

"She's in danger"

Kane frowned shaking his head "You can't know that!"

"See that" Kiba pointed to the mosaic "My team mate and friend looks just like that, she is the chosen one."

"See that" Kiba pointed to the mosaic "My team mate and friend Hinata looks just like that, she is the chosen one. On her way back to Konoha the team she was with got attacked by a member of the… bad cult!"

"I don't know if I can believe you, I don't see how her identity could be known by almost anyone, only members of the cult of the flower know about how Hinata should look, only specially selected people are allowed to see the tapestry… unless they have found this place."

"We know she is the chosen one" Shino said clearly as he walked forward and handed the nin a photo "This is our team photograph."

Kane took the picture and stared down at the people in it, Shino stood stern with his hands in his pockets and most of his face covered, Kiba had one arm around Akamaru whose head hung over his shoulder, Kurenai and Hinata stood together their arms around each others necks looking for all the world like mother and daughter. He stared at Hinata carefully his mouth open in astonishment, as he looked from the picture to the mosaic his face became more and more stunned.

"Her name?" he asked quietly staring at Kiba and waiting for an answer "You called her Hinata"

"Yeah, Hinata, Hyuga Hinata"

"I was introduced to the sect during my time in Konoha, I was taken by my uncle to visit the Hyuga compound, their eyes are recognised as that of the chosen one's family and we know they are her sisters heirs. For the most part the Hyuga know nothing of the cult but those of a certain age that are marked with the caged bird seal know exactly what the Cult of the desert of blood are all about. Their role is that of guardian over the chosen one, the sect I belong to calls itself the cult of the Warrior Prince. We await the day he returns ready to fight for his love and we shall stand by his side."

"How do they work to protect her"

"Well at the moment… why are you so interested…?" he frowned at them his mind making some quick calculations "Wait, the museum that was involved in the attack held the chalice, if the chosen one is in danger then someone is trying to bring the tyrant back to power… has the chalice been taken?"

"It has" Temari informed him deciding that full disclosure would get more out of this man

"This picture is too like her to be mere coincidence, if the cult of blood is on the move then they must be sure…" He stared at the picture a frown on his face "I think I need to take you to see someone…"

-

Making their way back to Suna swiftly Kane made them wear long cloaks to hide their identity and led the group directly through the gates. He made Kiba send Akamaru to the Kazekages tower as he redundantly explained that a huge dog would be difficult to hide. Making sure they kept their heads down Kane moved through the backstreets of Suna taking them through places that the Kazekage's sister wouldn't normally be seen in. After they had gone into the very depths of Suna's 'dodgy area' (as Temari had put it) he found the place he was looking for.

He knocked at the door and there was a short period of silence until finally it opened and the four of them were dragged through the doorway.

"What are you doing bringing her here?" Kane was questioned by the young man who had pulled them in.

"I'm sorry Souta but they need to see the revered grandparents. The chosen one is in danger." The two men stared each other down until finally Souta nodded and cocked his head in the direction they should go.

Following Kane Shino, Kiba and Temari moved into a light cheerfully decorated room where an aged, white haired couple sat drinking tea.

"Kane" the woman looked up as they entered and smiled brilliantly but it wasn't her smile of welcome that shocked the three newcomers, it was her eyes, she had the pale eyes of a Hyuga. "Who are these… if I had to say I'd think they were of the Inuzuka and Aburame clan. Temari san, it's an honour to meet you"

"Honoured grandparents, these are Kiba I nuzuka and Shino Aburame, they have important information for us."

"Welcome" the man smiled easily "My name is Kawada, Touya Kawada, this is my wife Mai."

"Wait Mai and Touya Kawada?" Kiba asked sounding shocked.

"Yes" the woman nodded "You have heard if us?"

"You know who they are?" Shino asked, he recognised the Hyuga eyes in the woman but the man didn't seem to have anything specific about him

"Yeah… their Hinata's grandparents. Her mothers parents"

"You know Hinata?" the woman stood and forward as she questioned him "Where is she?"

"We were a genin team together, she's back in Konoha now, she travelled back a few days ago."

"Alone?" the man asked quickly

"No, she was with a large team transporting someone." Kiba decided it was easier to leave that as an explanation than go into the details. "How come you're here, Hinata thinks you're dead."

"We were placed here to help the cult of the Warrior Prince and…" they exchanged a look "to protect the axe."

"The axe is here?" Kiba asked eagerly

"The axe was purchased by us about thirty years ago, and we were placed here not long after Hanabi was born."

"Why?" Shino asked "Hinata could have done with some extra family, she went through so much, why didn't you stay in Konoha?"

"It's a long story" Touya warned

"We've got plenty of time" Temari responded, the couple looked at each other and then offered the group chairs and tea.

"It all started when the seal came into use in the family" Mai began the story "You see the Hyuga have always known about the legends surrounding their families origins but the main family decided that it was something they didn't want remembered. Having their ancestors as slaves and executed was shameful in their eyes, we, the branch family, remembered the stories and passed them down proud of our heritage and reminding each other that at some point we were all subservient, not just some of us. The stories were written out by one of the Branch Hyuga but they were discovered and destroyed by the main family, they then punished the man by sealing him, this was decades ago, soon the entirety of the branch house was sealed and threatened never to tell the story again. The main house forgot, but we did not, that is how I met Touya here" she smiled at her husband fondly "He comes from Suna"

"Unlike Mai here I'm a civillian, was born into the religion of the desert of blood" Touya told them "but I disliked the aim to bring back a tyrannical ruler, I edged away from the faith and became interested in the newer sect that was rising in Suna. Once in the new cult I took a very active part in it, I'm an astrologer and a professor, they hoped I would be able to discover the next coming of the chosen one, I was told that I could become a true protector if I could discover when the next one would come. There has been two recorded incarnations so far, one about seventy years after the first but no one knows what happened to her, she was a farmer's daughter she lived in a country very like Suna only they were on the edge of a river and were able to farm thanks to it's regular flooding. (Think ancient Egypt) We know nothing of the others that would have come back. Then another came about one hundred years ago, she was not a slave but a lady, she lived in a castle in a lush green country (Think medieval France) and she fell in love with a poor blacksmith."

"Let me guess, the warrior prince" Temari smirked as he nodded in agreement

"Indeed, at first this couple were lucky, they made their case to her father and they were to be wed but then just a few days before they were married a man came to her father and demanded the young woman's hand in marriage. The father owed the man money and did not really care about his daughter so he agreed. The night before the chosen one was due to leave the safety of her home to marry him she escaped. She and the warrior prince made their get away by boat but he came after them. They were drowned together, their bodies were found washed up on a shore and they were buried together."

"How do you know these people are definitely the ones you want?" Kiba asked as the old man paused in the story and all three members of the sect bowed their heads reverently

"There are pictures, a carving of the first young woman remains here with us in Suna to this day and the tapestry of the lady and the Blacksmith is in Konoha looked after by the branch Hyuga. When I reached Konoha I was lucky enough to meet with the then Head of the Hyuga Branch Family Council. He was willing to share the history with me. Every year people come to Konoha to see the tapestry by way of pilgrimage, it is done secretly, privately, people travel to the Branch Hyuga safe house under the guise of delivery men, the head family think themselves above delivery men and don't pay much attention to them, it works well really."

"The Pride of the main family has been their downfall before" Mai acknowledged with a smile

"Do all the Branch family get told of the legends?" Shino asked intrigued as to why Neji and Hinata did not know

"Not until they are in their thirties, sometimes younger members are told but only if they are chosen by the council."

"When did you guys work out Hinata was the chosen one?" Kiba enquired suspiciously

"The day she was born" Mai laughed at their surprised faces "Allow me to explain, Touya decided to remain in Konoha to work out when the next incarnation would come. He and I fell in love, we married when I was twenty one. Our first child came along the next year, a boy, he died on the night of the Kyubbi attack he was a guard, our second came the year after died in childbirth and the third who came along the next year, the third was a beautiful young girl and we named her Haruka. She was a lovely young child, sweet, and very talented with the Hyuga ways, when she was six I was, as the Branch members are, told of the legends, at first I was angry that my husband had not informed me of all this before but, I thought that it would never affect me, so I... I ignored it. Then, as Haruka began to get older I noticed it, I tried to convince myself that I was wrong, that I was imagining it but... Haruka began to look more and more like the tapestry. Not only that, a boy, her friend, one of her best friends from school he began to look more and more like the warrior prince. The two of them were close and we thought, we all thought... we thought they would fall in love. They really seemed like a couple at times." Mai shook her head unhappily whilst beside her Touya put an arm around her.

"it's a hard thing for parents when they outlive their children." Temari said sympathetically

"Yes, and even harder when you spent your whole life protecting one of them. In order to further protect our dear Haruka we urged the council to purchase the axe that had killed the original and they did so, but it turned out we were wrong." He smiled sadly at them "As it is the two of them never got together, they were in their early twenties when they married other people. He fell in love with a fiery young redhead and to our surprise she fell for the Hyuga head and he was just as in love with her. The four of them remained friends and the two women even got pregnant around the same time. We began to think, maybe we had been mistaken, how could the chosen one love someone other than the warrior prince?"

"Then Hinata came along" Kiba stated knowledgeably

"Yes" Mai nodded smiling reminiscently "When Haruka had her baby and named her Hinata I almost had a heart attack, all those years thinking she was the chosen one and she calls her daughter Hinata. She had not yet been told about the legends, the name was merely..."

"Coincidence?" Kiba suggested

"No" Mai shook her head "Destiny"

--

"Are you honestly telling me you still haven't told her?" Shikamaru asked as he and Naruto headed to the Hokage tower.

"It's still hard to think about" Naruto muttered belligerently "Can you just leave it?"

"Alight but you've got to realise that Hinata would prefer to hear about it from you."

"Alright" Naruto shrugged off his friend and began to jump up towards Tsunade's window

"You know it's easier to just use the stairs" Shikamaru called after him making him stop halfway.

"But it's quicker this way, it gives you more time to be lazy at the top" Naruto responded with a grin, Shikamaru stood for a moment thinking about it until finally he nodded and began to the blond up the wall.

Naruto grinned at being able to outsmart Shikamaru and the continued to run up stopping at Tsunade's window for him to catch up

"It's still too tiring, next time I'm taking the stairs" Shikamaru muttered, he was about to say more when something in Tsunade's office caught his eye. "Is that Hiashi?"

"Huh?" Naruto turned and looked through the window "Oh yeah, Hinata chan's in there too, I wonder what Granny is saying to them." He dropped down out of sight and began to listen, Shikamaru thought about just making them go in when he realised that the longer he hung around out here the longer he could tell his mother that he'd been at the Hokage's office when she moaned at him about doing his chores.

"Are you listening to me Hokage-sama?"

The two boys had caught Tsunade's eye as she faced Hiashi but she didn't bother to bring his attention to them or make them come in, the Hyuga leader was pissing her off too much for her to care about his privacy.

"Yes I'm listening to you Hiashi, keep moaning!"

"I'm merely saying that if this mission means she must spend this much time with Uzumaki I want to remove her from the mission" Hiashi turned to Tsunade "we have no proof that Suna isn't behind all this himself as some elaborate way of obtaining Hinata for her Byakugan"

"I'm sealed remember!" Hinata spoke up uncharacteristically

"There are other ways of having you produce Byakugan for another"

Hinata shook her head, her father could be so determined to hate people sometimes. "Gaara wouldn't do that, I trust him"

"A demon?"

"He's not a demon, he never was really! He was… a little scary, when I first met him at the Chunin exams…," seeing her fathers expression of disbelief Hinata paused, she really ought to be more honest about how she had felt about Gaara before "ok… so I was more than a little scared of him, I have to admit to that, if you'd seen him like I did in the forest of death… but he doesn't even contain a demon anymore. Even if he did, Naruto trusts him and that's enough for me"

"He would" Hiashi sneered "demons together."

"Watch it Hyuga" Tsunade hissed, she was well aware of Naruto and Shikamaru standing on the roof outside her window listening to the conversation even if the others weren't.

"What do you mean?" Hinata stared at her father confused

"I mean that Naruto would trust Gaara as he himself has a demon inside of him. The nine tailed fox."

"Wh-what?" all Hinata's anger at her father vanished as she was overcome with confusion, she wanted to laugh, the idea that Naruto, smiling, cheerful, eternally enthusiastic Naruto could contain a demon… but… it made sense! Her mind filled with thoughts Hinata slowly lowered herself into a nearby chair "Oh my God! No… but then…"

"Hiashi" Tsunade hissed her eyes blazing with anger

"It does…, does have a sort of… logic… He was born the night of the attack, he has that strange chakra when he's mad" Hinata ignored the two adults as she thought he whole thing through.

"What?" Hiashi asked innocently happy at the trouble he had caused "She would have found out one day, she is planning on becoming a medic nin and they and the ANBU must all be informed of Naruto's condition." Hiashi smiled at Hinata "Naruto had the Nine tailed demon fox sealed within him when he was a baby, now do you see my child? Do you see how wrong it is to trust him? Do you understand why I do not want you near him?"

"I… I think I-I do!" Hinata felt tears welling up in her eyes and her throat tightened "He has a demon inside him, this town has great evil within it…"

* * *

Uh oh… what will happen? Has Hinata turned against Naruto? Is Orochimaru going to win… why do I always ask you readers these questions, you don't know!!

Please R&R


	11. The Warrior Prince?

Quick update but a shortish chapter, I will try to update as soon as I can. Thanks everyone that reviewed, I really appreciated it, I also had a few suggestions that really made me laugh.

Sorry Dragonman180 no making sweet love… yet. If you really want that tell me, you are one of my most dedicated reviewers so I may be convinced!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Shikamaru watched as Naruto sat down heavily on the roof, the complete despair in the blond's face was enough to make even the coldest of people feel for him. "Naruto…"

"Leave it…" Naruto faked a smile, he was crushed, last night Hinata had told him he was wonderful now he was evil, he didn't blame her but that didn't mean he had to like how she felt about him "maybe what you told me earlier was stupid."

Then they heard it, Tsunade's yelling was clearly audible from their spot and probably half way across the village.

"THIS TOWN DOES NOT HAVE EVIL WITHIN IT"

"YES IT DOES" Hinata yelled back uncharacteristically "YOU WEREN'T HERE, YOU DIDN'T SEE!"

"I DON'T NEED… Wait… see what?" Tsunade was confused now "the nine tails? **You** didn't see it, it was before you were even born!"

"NO! Not that." Hinata retorted sounding frustrated "I wasn't talking about the nine tails you id…" the insult stopped there as Hinata remembered who she was talking to "I didn't mean **that**. I didn't mean that the evil in the town was Naruto, I meant how the village treated Naruto is the evil in this town. It was pure evil to shut him out and treat him like they did when…, he is our champion….he saved us all. He's saving us even now just by holding that thing."

"What?" Three people uttered that one worded question, one was Hiashi who looked completely shocked, another was Tsunade who wore a slight grin at the Hyuga girl's reaction, the final one was Naruto as his head shot up and he turned to peek through the window amazed at what he was hearing.

"When we were kids I used to see Naruto being teased and neglected and no one ever helped, I wanted to but father you told me I wasn't allowed near him and I was too stupid and **weak** to argue. Oh…, I am a terrible person, Naruto should have had a friend, and I should've been there to be that friend. And you…!" Hinata turned on her father "WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN? What did you think I would do when you told me this? That I would turn my back on my greatest inspiration and good friend because he saved the village the very day he was born? Because he has something inside of him that he had no control over? FOOL! I have loved you and him for a long time and while you have not deserved that love he has!"

"Hinata, you will respect your father" Hiashi's jaw was set and his anger was palpable.

"Respect must be earned, you have done nothing to earn it from me" getting up Hinata moved away from her father to stand near the door. "I will do all I can to help Suna, and there is nothing you can do about it, my duty is to my village first, my family second. Tsunade, I take my orders from you but I think you see the wisdom in my being a part of this **mission.**"

"I do" Tsunade nodded feeling a little tearful as she looked at Hinata "do you really not care about Naruto being… different…?"

"He has always been different Lady Tsunade" Hinata laughed at this "but if you must know… I do care, but only because in my eyes he is even more wonderful than I first thought and…" Hinata chuckled as she said this "I thought he was pretty wonderful to start with."

As Hinata twisted the door handle Hiashi stepped forward shouting "Hinata you will not leave this room!"

It was the keening cry of pain that had Naruto leaping into action, he threw himself in through Tsunade's window before Shikamaru could even think to stop him.

On entering the room Naruto saw Hinata kneeling by the door her hands on her head as she screamed out in pain. Tsunade was running for Hiashi ready to punch him through the wall but Naruto got there first. With one chakra charged punch he sent Hiashi flying across the floor and crashing into a bookshelf, in the next second the blond was on his knees next to Hinata. She was only just conscious and as he arrived at her side her eyes became a little more glazed.

"Hinata?" he whispered brushing her hair away from her face "Hinata look at me, are you ok?"

Hinata shifted painfully her eyes filled with tears as she stared at him "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah" he nodded smiling lovingly at her pulling her into his arms

She smiled back until a thought crossed her mind, frowning a little she asked "Y-you heard all that?"

"I did" he chuckled as she blushed faintly "and you're not a terrible person, in fact, I think you're pretty wonderful."

"Oh…" She blushed an even darker red, she enjoyed his compliment but her head was still pounding and it was all she could do to speak "I-I… I don't feel too well… I-I think I'm gonna faint n-now… if that's alright?"

He chuckled, only Hinata would double check to see if it was alright to faint "That's OK, I'll keep an eye on you till you wake up" Naruto reassured her smiling all the while, and, with that Hinata happily succumbed to the dark sleep that she had visited many times before.

Smiling as he stood up Naruto lifted Hinata into his arms and looked up at Tsunade hopefully "Granny…"

"Let me see her" Tsunade walked forward and passed a glowing hand over Hinata's head "She's alright, she'll be in pain for several hours so maybe it's better that she's unconscious for now, can you take her back to the hospital?"

"Same room?" Naruto asked

"No, I discharged her this morning so you're going to need to sign her back in."

"Ok" Naruto walked towards the door, he was checked when he got their by Tsunade

"Make sure you tell them that she's not to have any visitors unless I sign off on them, then come back here, I need to speak with you." he left and Tsunade turned to the window "Get in here Shikamaru, I need to talk to you."

-

Standing before Gaara Mai and Touya showed no signs of fear and worry, sure they were in a lot of trouble as they had been living and running a sort of cult illegally in Suna and there were a few other minor misdemeanours under their belt, but to them Gaara was still a kid. Kiba, Kankuro and Temari seemed to find this amusing… Shino just stood there watching.

"You see Sonny" Touya said in a condescending voice "Everything we did was too keep protecting our granddaughter. We had to keep her safe to protect not only her but everyone else as well."

Gaara twitched a little at being addressed as Sonny but did not say anything, he merely turned to Temari "What do you think should be done now?"

"Well any stuff we have against these two should be dropped, their not criminals but I do think we ought to get them out of Suna. They know where the axe is so if I take them and a team with me I could retrieve the Axe of Purgeance and destroy it."

"It can't be destroyed" Mai interrupted quickly "we tried everything, and I mean everything! When we first got the Axe we managed to get someone to try rasengan it into destruction, it didn't even scratch it."

"But you said it was in two parts!" Temari exclaimed staring at the old couple "You must have been able to break it!"

"That type of executioner axe was made so that it could be taken apart" Touya explained looking very studious as he spoke "You see in those days executioners would travel from town to town wherever payment was best and perform executions, they never settled in one place, it could be a very lucrative career choice. This saved a town from having one executioner, when towns had specific executioners and people knew where they lived vengeance was a big issue, it started after an execution where it was later revealed that the victim had been innocent a family named Tat…"

"That'll do dear" Mai placed a hand on her husbands arm smiling affectionately "he gets carried away when he starts on about history. We separated the parts of the axe so that I would hide one and he would hide the other. We have never told each other where the respective parts are hidden though I will confess, mine is in Konoha"

"Really? When did you manage… never mind" Touya turned his surprised face from his wife and looked at Temari "well mine isn't, it's hidden in an old shrine between here and Konoha. The Karuki* shrine, it makes the journey to Konoha a few days longer but it's safe enough, only I would ever be able to find it."

"Very well" Gaara nodded and nodded to Temari "You must pick two ANBU level guards to accompany you and they must be trustworthy. You will then proceed to the shrine where you will retrieve the first part of the Axe. You will then head to Konoha Mai will not give away the position of the second part whatever happens until you get there!" he addressed the elderly woman with an alarmingly severe expression "I would prefer to know that it's hidden safely in Konoha than have you reveal the actual location to anyone else. Once you are there and in the protection of trustworthy leaf nin you may take them to the hiding place… you understand what I mean?" he stared at the elderly lady in a way that made even the strongest of ANBU shiver but she merely nodded her head.

"Of course dearie" she smiled at him before chuckling "My you remind me of Hiashi as a young'un, so angry. He was just lucky that my Haruka could see past his frostiness, you may not be so lucky if you keep frowning like that."

Temari, Kankuro and Kiba almost turned red trying not to laugh as Gaara took in this suggestion

"I suggest you pack up and get ready to leave" he spoke coldly to them and Temari recognised it as a sign that he was REALLY angry. Grabbing Kiba and Kankuro she dragged them to the door closely followed by Shino. Mai and Touya merely bowed before heading to the door, once there Touya turned back and smiled at the Kazekage

"Just thought I'd say before I go, I've seen Suna under many men's rule and so far yours has been the best, keep up the good work kid."

As pleased as he was by the compliment Gaara couldn't help but frown at the mans comment, he had been Kazekage for years now, how dare these people talk to him as though he was a kid, no one had spoken to him like than in years. Most of them were too afraid to. Shaking his head he sighed, he really needed this cult business sorted as soon as possible, people were going to notice that the chalice was missing soon.

-

"How you feeling?" Naruto smiled as Hinata stared up at him blushing darkly

"I'm ok" she croaked nervously, Naruto immediately handed her a glass of water and helped her to drink from it "thank you"

"No problem!"

"What my father said…"

"About the Kyubbi?"

"Well yeah, but the other stuff, about it being wrong to trust you, he's just a foolish old man, ignore him."

"I don't mind" Naruto replied with a shrug "you see, thanks to him I know how you truly feel about me."

"Ah…" Hinata nodded nervously "yes a-about that…"

"Did you not mean it?" Naruto teased pretending to be upset knowing full well what the answer would be

"Of course I did! I would never lie about that even…" she stopped when she noticed the smirk on his face "Not fair Naruto-kun"

"I know!" he grinned at her making her stomach do the same old fluttery feeling she always got "but you were all nervous before, when you're indignant you're less likely to faint!"

"I don't faint as much as I used to" she defended herself "Today was more because of the seal being activated" noticing his anger Hinata placed a calming hand on his arm and spoke placatingly "… hey! What's wrong?"

"What he did to you" Naruto gritted his teeth as he spoke "I could kill him"

"Don't think like that" Hinata trailed her hand down his arm and laced their fingers together "Revenge is never a good idea, you know that."

"I just want to protect you, keep you happy"

"I am happy" she said blushing again "You make me happy"

"Much as I hate to break up this tender little moment!" Tsunade stood at the door grinning at the blushing couple, Hinata moved to pull her hand away from Naruto but he kept a tight hold on it even having the audacity to pull her hand to his lips and kiss it. RIGHT IN FRONT OF TSUNADE! Hinata was tempted to faint again, in fact, she almost did, she felt it coming over her she just managed not to give in.

"It's alright" Naruto shrugged "What's going on Tsunade?"

"Just a quick report on what the other teams have told us on their return"

"They all got back alright?" Hinata asked immediately worried for the others

"Everyone's back safe and sound, only Kiba and Shino haven't returned but they aren't expected for a while. Now…"

-

Travelling to Konoha had never seemed such a daunting task for Temari, her team consisted of Kane, Kankurou, Kiba and Akamaru, Shino and finally Shion a young man she had worked with many times before and who was known to be a part of the warrior prince's religious group. It was a good team but Mai and Touya were the trouble. Mai was alright, her shinobi training meant that even at sixty she could move quite fast but Touya was a civilian and suffered from rheumatism as well. Their progress would be slow which was a little worrying considering how many people might be tracking them. Gaara had sent a message out to Konoha asking Tsunade to send a team to meet them at the Karuki shrine so she was hoping that they'd be safer on the way form the shrine.

The message that the teams originally sent out to take Hinata back to Konoha had been ambushed from within had shocked them all. The idea that one of Gaara's own guards had been the one to begin the fight had been appalling. There were very few people they could now trust.

Shion Kane and Shino talked with Touya as they walked, the man was a veritable mine of information about the history of the two towns, he knew everything factual and mythical. Kiba and Kankurou were joking around, they had spent quite a few missions together and had a lot in common. Temari for her part walked beside Mai, she found the older woman interesting, she had given up her ninja status in order to protect Hinata and even faked her own death in order to do so.

"I really did think I was doing the best thing for Hinata, Kiba may have thought that we should have stayed but… it's not as though we never knew anything about her. She already had a protector that would be named for her from the branch family. The Hyuga branch council would send us pictures of her and Hanabi, they told us of her progress at school. We were so proud when she became a genin, a chunin…."

"She almost died becoming a chunin, it was her so called protectors fault"

"Almost died?" Mai asked stopping in her shock "I know it's possible but… I was never told that"

"They were probably trying to stop you from worrying" Temari shrugged "Neji, her cousin almost killed her, he aimed right for her heart"

"That arrogant stuck up little prig" Mai muttered under her breath "Just like his father and uncle. Hyuga men are so conceited."

"I guess that's why you married a non Hyuga." Temari decided to change the subject before Mai asked more about Hinata and Neji.

"That's not why" Mai smiled after her husband "I loved him, it's not exactly hard to understand, unless you're on the Hyuga council, they preferred marriage within the clan."

"That's just wrong on so many levels" Temari told her with a smile "In a few years it'll do them more harm than good."

"I know, that's part of the reason why we really hoped Haruka would end up with…" Mai stopped herself before she said more.

"Who? Who was he?" Temari asked staring at Mai "The man you thought was the warrior prince when you thought Hinata's mother was the chosen one."

"I do not think it would be right to say" Mai responded with a frown "He's been dead for a while"

"I need to know" Temari demanded "you say they got pregnant at around the same time, if he had a son it could be the one we're looking for!"

"The child is said to have died, his mother went into labour at around the same time the Kyubbi attacked, she didn't live, the father didn't live, no one told us about a son."

"The Kyubbi?" Temari asked nervously "The same night?" suddenly a lot of things that had been obvious between Hinata and Naruto began to flash through her mind.

"No, her labour started the day before"

"Labour can last hours" Temari muttered to herself, she knew that unlike Gaara Naruto had had the demon sealed into him after birth, if his mothers labour had started the day before and lasted over twenty four hours. "Tell me, what did he look like, the man, was he blond? What colour were his eyes?"

"Blond" Mai agreed surprised that she had known that "with brown eyes… that was where he differentiated from the tapestry"

"The eye colour on the tapestry… they were blue right?"

"Yes, how did you…?"

"I know who it is" Temari grinned to herself "I never saw him as the warrior prince type but… I suppose it works. Oh Boy Naruto, what are you going to do about this one?" she shook her head but then exploded into a run of giggles 'With all her ideas about how the warrior prince should be what was Sakura gonna think when she heard this?'

-

"Hey Hinata!" Ino smiled at her friend as cheerfully as possible "How you feeling?"

"I'm alright" Hinata smiled at the blonde feeling unhappy. There was a feeling of restraint as they talked to each other, it was new for them just recently there had been a sense of full disclosure between them. Finally Hinata decided to answer the question she was sure Ino wanted to ask before she really began. "It was the most painful thing I've ever felt, even what Neji did in the Chunin exams wasn't that bad. It was like screaming, you know when you hear a high pitched whine that bugs you?"

"Yeah"

"It was like that only someone was crushing my brain at the same time"

"Ouch!"

"Yeah"

"But that's not what I was going to ask" confused Hinata cocked her head to one side "I was going to ask how you and Naruto got together"

The vivid red blush that Hinata developed at this question made Ino smile "How do you know about that?"

"I worked it out, it wasn't hard with the way Naruto was blushing like you normally do."

"He was?" Hinata asked with a chuckle "that's so sweet."

"Yeah, now come on give me the details!!"

"He asked how I was feeling about this whole chosen one thing…" Hinata paused remembering some of what had been said

"What is it?" Ino asked looking really worried

"Nothing just… just silly stuff, anyway"

"No" Ino interrupted "It's not silly if it's still worrying you."

"We got talking about destiny, you know, how Neji used to be so stuck on it and how Naruto convinced him things weren't about fate and destiny." Ino nodded positively "Well, I was talking about how my fate was to fall in love with some warrior prince and then die, not much of a destiny."

"That's not destiny, that's the past and what happened back then, there's no reason why in this life you can't end up being totally happy with Naruto. We've beaten Orochimaru off before, we can do it again."

"But how many people died doing that? What happens when this warrior prince shows up expecting me to just go along with him, it's like the arranged marriages I've been avoiding all my life."

"Hinata… the story of the chosen one is all about love, because of their love, it is not destiny, or arrangements, or making people do stuff they don't want to do. It's about a guy and a girl who fall in love and…" Ino paused thinking hard, why did Hinata have to be fighting destiny by loving Naruto? what if it was meant to be?

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked looking up at Ino as she stood up to leave the room

"Yeah, I just need to… go see someone. I'll talk to you later, OK?"

"Well…" Hinata didn't get to say more as the door to the room opened and Hyuga Kenji looked into the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Hinata but I'm afraid I have some clan business to talk to you about."

"I was just going, I'll be seeing you soon Hinata, OK?"

"Ok" Hinata agreed looking from Kenji to Ino with confusion in her eyes "I guess."

--

"Sakura!" Ino ran up to her friend "I'm glad you're back ok, look I need to ask you something. It's about all this chosen one business"

"I know! I still can't believe Hinata is the chosen one" Sakura whispered as she walked with Ino "I mean ok so it makes sense but it's just so weird that it's someone we know. And I can't believe you didn't tell me she was sealed, I wouldn't have told anyone. But lucky Hinata getting a warrior prince, I can't wait till she's over that silly Naruto crush…"

"Sakura!" Ino yelled shutting her friend up "I need to talk to you"

"What about?"

"Well like you said, Hinata is the chosen one, we know this partly because her name means facing sunlight, next we need to work out who the warrior prince is. His name will mean something about a watery vortex."

"Well if we're going by Hinata as the chosen one the warrior prince is going to be Naruto" Sakura laughed cheerfully at this but to her surprise Ino didn't join in.

"Doesn't it strike you that that makes sense...?" Ino asked staring meaningfully at the pink haired girl.

"No" Sakura shook her head laughing "c'mon you can't be serious."

"Why not...? It's not such a weird idea" Ino grinned at her friend's shock "Look Hinata loves Naruto right?"

"Right"

"And he's a bit ignorant, his family aren't around although that bit's debatable and Tsunade did say to me that different circumstances affect the people of now."

"Ino!" Sakura almost yelled "Naruto is not a warrior prince" her eyes blazed with determination "He's not a prince!"

"And Hinata is not a slave girl!" Ino yelled back

"But this is Naruto! Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed completely unable to reconcile the image she had of an attractive warrior princes riding in on a noble steed to rescue the chosen one, with the idea of the blundering and usually slow team-mate that she had been on so many missions with.

"Sakura you need to stop thinking of Naruto as Naruto. For once in your life look at him... look at him as Hinata looks at him. She sees him the way we used to... the way you still do look at Sasuke. Think of him as someone totally different, imagine that he isn't the dumb guy we went to school with, imagine your meeting him for the first time, what's your impression of him?"

"I… I-I can't" Sakura moaned completely disgusted by the idea. "He's Naruto!"

"Fine..." Ino rolled her eyes as the two of them continued to walk down the street, they were soon met by Shikamaru, Chouji and Sasuke. Upon seeing them Ino ran forward saying "Guys do you know what Naruto's name means?"

"Fishcake" Sasuke said decidedly, immediately Sakura began to laugh a look of relief on her face.

"Seriously?" Ino asked surprised, there was no way she could reason fishcake into watery vortex.

"Well it can also mean Maelstrom" Chouji offered cheerfully " He prefers that definition, it basically means Whirlpool or something like that"

"No way." Sakura literally took a step back

"So it could all be translated as watery vortex?" Ino asked staring at Shikamaru hoping he would understand what she was saying and agree with her.

"Probably" Chouji shrugged as he stuffed a handful of crisps in his mouth.

"I won't believe it!" Sakura shook her head refusing to acknowledge that they could be right.

"Ino what are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked staring at his teammate in surprise

"Hinata and Naruto are together now, dating, right? Well…"

"When did that happen?" Sakura interrupted "Ino why don't you tell me stuff these days?"

"Let her finish Sakura" Sasuke said as he too stared at Ino

"Right, Naruto and Hinata are dating now. Well I was talking to her about it and she said that it might mean fighting her destiny with this warrior prince and I just got to thinking maybe she's not fighting her destiny. Maybe Naruto is her destiny!"

"Maybe" Sasuke agreed nodding "Maybe the loser is really the warrior prince."

-

"You are sure?" Kabuto questioned his informant

"I am positive" the young woman with maroon coloured head nodded vehemently "I wasn't able to hear all of the conversation but they mentioned that the axe was hidden in Karuki. There's a small village about ten days travel from Suna named Karuki, it's barely on the map, it would be the perfect hiding place."

"What about you?" Kabuto questioned the man next to her "Any news?"

"The Kazekages brother and sister have left the village with a team, some in the team are Konoha leaf nin. They are heading in a south easterly direction. I have the exact bearing here."

"That's the direction Karuki village is in!" the young woman spoke up again

"Very well" Kabuto smiled to himself "Looks like we're going to pay a little visit to Karuki village."

* * *

*The Karuki shrine and village is totally made up, I'm not even sure f Karuki is even a real word or name I couldv'e spent a few days doing research about it but I'm sure you'd all prefer a quick update.

Please R&R


	12. The axe part one

Hello, sorry again about the long wait but I do have a life away from this site, when I first started writing on here I didn't have so much going on but these days it's like I have to put real life first (It's odd how that happens!)

I do not own Naruto!!

* * *

Standing looking down at the small town of Karuki Kabuto surveyed the town with an odd smile on his face, the town was barely there, only about thirty houses in all, it wasn't even worth calling it a town. The Suna shinobi had not arrived yet but he was pretty sure they would be arriving soon, turning to the team of men behind him he gave them their order in a swift terse manner.

"Go in, do no damage to the outer buildings but kill anyone you find there"

The group around him nodded and descended on the small civilian town of Karuki, Kabuto listened with sadistic pleasure as screams of terror filled the air. He closed his eyes and inhaled the air smelling the blood that was being spilled. Normally he would have told his teams to completely destroy the town but he needed to wait for the team that were coming to pick up the axe, he needed the town to remain standing so they would not immediately expect an ambush.

Walking slowly down to join his men Kabuto made plans for the trapping of Temari and her team. He knew the site of the town well enough, Orochimaru had made sure to get full maps of every single town in the area surrounding Suna. He was so sure the axe would be here somewhere, Kabuto had never been sure, he was just angry that the axe could have been sold off like it had been. So far no one on the group supporting them had any idea about the buying or selling of the axe. Some remembered it happening but it was before Kabuto's birth so he had nothing to go on but other people's word.

First they needed to get rid of the sweet scent of blood.

-

Sitting in her hospital bed Hinata looked at her fellow breach member with interest, his eyes strayed nervously to her forehead which was currently uncovered, before glancing out the window. His quick movements ad shifting eyes told Hinata one thing, he seemed nervous. It seemed off for Kenji to be nervous, he was normally so sure, he acted confident in a quiet way but you could practically sense his self-belief and it put you at ease yourself. Today however he appeared to fidget... Hyuga's never fidget... well most Hyuga's.

That had been one of her father's constant complaints when she was a child, the way she fidgeted or poked her fingers together. It was a nervous habit that she started up after her mother's death but then she'd always been shy. It was one of her main faults in his eyes.

"Is something wrong Kenji sama?" she asked watching his movement carefully

"In a way, yes." Moving forward Kenji sat down beside her bed

"Is this about my father?" she asked nervously but Kenji merely cocked his head to one side confused

"Why would it be about Hiashi san?"

"No reason" Hinata lied wondering if anyone but herself Naruto and Tsunade knew what her father had done to her. She didn't particularly want it to be common knowledge but usually both of the Hyuga councils would be notified if a Hyuga Curse Mark had been activated. Why hadn't her father told them… unless he was ashamed or knew he had been in the wrong "Why are you here then?"

"Well… You see Hinata... I want to talk to you about your mission to Suna and what you discovered there"

"What about it?" Hinata cut in a frown marring her forehead, what and how did he know? None of them were supposed to have told anyone anything.

"Don't look so suspicious" Kenji smiled at her, "I have known about your destiny for a long time" At this Hinata's mouth dropped and she gaped at Kenji "You have all the attributes of the chosen one, your face and form, your nature, even your name designates what you shall be."

"Kenji?" Hinata stared at her fellow branch member in shock "How is it that you know about all this?"

"We have known since your birth what you would mean to the world Hinata" Kenji smiled kindly at her "It was known by all the branch members many years ago, we planned to inform the main house… we tried once or twice but they punished us for it or just didn't care. We are merely the branch members."

"Of course" Hinata nodded looking down at the floor "This may be a stupid question but can the axe…"

"Is safely hidden" he reassured her quickly "Even I do not know where it is."

"Only hidden?" she asked despondently, she would have preferred to hear that they had melted it down and made a watering can out of it.

"It cannot be destroyed, we have tried many times. But as always there's nothing, not even a scratch" he smiled at her "It cannot be destroyed so instead… we protect."

Hinata nodded understandingly, it made sense that the axe was indestructible, the chalice was probably the same, how did ancient cults manage stuff like that? You'd think that instead of going after world domination they'd just market the indestructibility and make glasses or something. They'd make a fortune and there'd be a lower mortality rate.

"You say you have been sure of my position since birth, I find that unlikely, how did you work out that I was the girl you were looking for?"

"Well" Kenji smiled as he began to explain to Hinata "We actually once thought someone else was the chosen one, for a long time we worked to protect another."

"Who?"

Kenji paused before he told her "Your mother," Hinata reacted with shock her eyes wide and confused "Despite what your father would have you think you are not a disgrace to your parentage, you are very like your mother, in looks and disposition… and when she was a child she had a good friend, a man we thought would grow up to be the warrior prince. Like you your mother he matched the description and picture we have of the warrior prince"

It took a moment for what Kenji said to register in Hinata's mind but the moment she realised what he meant she started to climb out of bed "Picture? You know what the prince looks like?" he nodded watching her carefully "I want to see" she demanded picking up the jacket that had been taken from her body whilst she was being looked after and pulling it over her arms.

"All in good time… First we must warn you of the dangers you are about to face."

"No" Hinata interrupted becoming stern "I want to see now." Kenji frowned at the clear and curt way Hinata dealt with him, it was very… Hyuga!

--

Keeping one Kunai in hand ready for attack Temari stood beside Touya as he entered the Karuki shrine, the shrine had been built at four miles distance to the Karuki village, it was no longer used by the townspeople but had at one point been a place at which the town would go in respect for their ancestors.

It was in great disrepair now though you could tell that once it would have been of stunning design. Touya walked directly towards to the back where a stone table was attached to the back wall.

"We need to move this, I am not as young as I once was" he smiled at Temari who immediately moved forwards and shifted the table from the wall, it had obviously been built into the wall and a deep groove was left behind in the wall. Reaching into the space the space in the wall he felt around for a while before making a noise of triumph and dragging a large piece of stone towards him he once again turned to Temari for help. The Suna nin helped the elderly man remove the stone straining a little at the weight before dropping it heavily onto the stone table.

"You managed to lift this alone before?" Temari was surprised, civilians were not usually known for their strength and she was surprised Touya would have been able to hide the stone without assistance from his wife.

Her words made the old man chuckle, this was another thing he was used to with shinobi, especially shinobi from noble families or of high rank. They had very little opinion of civilians, this was part of the reason why he and his wife had managed to stay hidden from the world for so long. His marriage to his Hyuga wife had been through another name for security reasons so when he returned to Suna he taken back his old name of Tano and identity as a professor. Most people knew them by their false name of Kawada but no one ever really checked up on him. He was a civilian, an elderly and probably disorientated teacher living with his wife all alone.

"I may have been an academic but that does not mean I have never been strong" he smiled amusedly at her "marrying a shinobi and helping to raise a couple meant I had to adapt considerably. My little Haruka was a good child but she had a disobedient streak as all children do, keeping her to her bedtimes was a real struggle and I really needed some training of my own in order to look after her. She was not a Hyuga in the usual sense of the word, she was a little more cheerful and expressive than other Hyuga children."

"Rather like Hinata then" Temari said with a smile, she had always wondered where Hinata got her expressive countenance

"I suppose, I missed out on a lot of Hinata's life, I can only hope her disposition is the same as she was when she was younger" Touya looked down at the granite brick they had removed "This needs to be broken in half" he examined the sealed stone "it has become rather more permanently sealed now, I have a chisel but…"

"I don't think we'll be needing that" Temari smirked before moving in front of the stone, pulling out her fan she unfurled it and looked around at the shrine "Actually…" she put her fan away again "we ought to take this outside, I don't know how this structure will stand up to my kind of attack. Kankuro!"

The puppet user entered the room "Yup?"

"Help me carry this outside"

Between the two of them Kankuro and Temari lifted the stone and lifting it off the table carried it out of the shrine. "Man this is heavy" Kankuro muttered under his breath as they made their way into the open to join the others

"Get out of the way" Temari ordered as everyone began to gather around the stone, unfurling her fan once more before unleashing an attack on the inanimate stone. There was an almighty crack at the stone split in two, inside the cold granite lay a long silver coloured handle embellished with intricate designs.

"The handle of the axe of purgeance" Kane muttered reverently "I never thought to see the axe but…" he trailed off noting the way everyone looked at him "What? It's not the kind of thing you think you'll see when you're raised in my religion"

"It is something I prayed I would be able to destroy" Touya murmured, "I may be one of the most keen preservers in historical artefacts but this one, this one I would like to crumble until it disappears into the sand of time." He glared down at the cold artefact as if blaming it for its very existence, he had always wanted Haruka to live a long and happy life and he wished the same for her daughter, this thing, this axe was one of the reasons she was in such danger.

Kiba gave the man an apologetic glance before turning to look to the west "I sense danger"

"To us?" Temari's question was quick as she too turned

"I don't know" Kiba frowned as he and Akamaru smelt the air, Akamaru brought his head down low and growled, Kiba moved close to the ground getting his head right down with Akamaru's listening to what his partner had to say.

"Do you sense it too?" Shino asked seeming less calm than usual

"I do, blood has been spilled… the air reeks with terror and misery, what's in that direction?"

"The Karuki town" Touya told them "That's where Mai and I stayed on our journey to Suna"

"What do we do?" Kankuro asked getting ready for action

"Nothing" Temari commanded "I will send a message back to Suna to get help but we have a mission to do, nothing will stop that."

"You can't just leave them to their fate" Touya spoke quickly

"We must" Mai spoke decisively agreeing in full with Temari "We can not abandon the mission"

"So we just abandon those people to their fate?"

"We are dealing with the fate of the world not the Karuki village." Temari's voice was firm as she stared everyone down "There are about sixty to seventy people living in that village, I do not take any death lightly but compared to the thousands that will be killed if Orochimaru comes to power then I must do as I feel is right. We will send back for help but we can do no more."

A carrier bird was prepared and then sent out.

Turning Temari led the way back to the main road, she did not show it but her heart felt heavy as she walked. A small prayer passed her lips as she went, an unusual thing for her but in this case she needed it, that village was a good mix of young and old but it had very little protection to it. She knew she was deserting them to an awful fate but she never deserted a mission, especially not one this important.

--

Kenji began to lead Hinata through the Hyuga's hidden rooms "As I was saying, about thirty years ago when we saw those two children we believed that they would be the chosen ones, we then set about trying to retrieve the sword, knowing that Suna was suffering a crisis we put in a bid. We passed it off to the main household as a sign of power, they didn't even question it."

"Well who amongst the Branch family would dare to lie to the main?" Hinata asked mockingly.

"Exactly…. The thing that ruined our plans was when the man we suspected of being the prince fell in love with someone else. He married her and your mother didn't mind, it was almost as if they weren't supposed to be in love, had never even thought about it, she fell for your father. Then both couples had a child. And ironically enough, your mother named you Hinata a name we had long associated with the legends, and the other couple… we believe named their son…" Kenji paused and directed Hinata's attention to a tapestry on the wall "Naruto…, Naruto Uz…"

"Uzumaki." Hinata finished for him, she stared up at the blonde haired, blue eyed man that was pictured on the tapestry before

The tapestry on the wall was well made each stitch had been worked with love and care in memory of the young couple that had died so tragically. It was also almost terrifying in it's accuracy, whilst the mosaic had looked like her this was like looking in a mirror. The only differences were in hair and clothing styles. The Hinata in the tapestry had her hair twisted elegantly upon her head, the Naruto had long shaggy blonde tresses pulled over one shoulder, Hinata wore a long green dress with wide sleeves and golden embroidery, the Naruto wore black and brown with a leather apron covering his front.

Staring up at the picture in front of her Hinata felt her whole world come crashing down, Naruto didn't really love her, he only liked her because he had to. She should have known better, Brilliant and beautiful Naruto Uzumaki falling for weird and weak Hinata Hyuga, that was just plain stupid!

Turning Hinata ran.

--

Running Hinata made her way out of the Hyuga complex and avoided any one that she passed. She ran blindly not wanting to see anyone, not knowing where she was going just knowing that she had to get away from the frightening truth. She didn't want to be the chosen one, she had never wanted to be anything special, all she had ever wanted was to be accepted by her family and Naruto. Now it seemed the only reason the Branch family were kind to her was because they had to protect her (not much had changed there then) and Naruto only thought he loved her because he was destined to.

By this time Hinata had reached one of the training grounds. Not caring anymore Hinata allowed her jacket to drop to the ground before walking up to one of the training posts. Not using any chakra at all she began to hit the post.

Destiny, fate, your lot in life, your vocation…

Why was it her life was destined to be surrounded by these ideas.

"WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL?" She yelled continuing her assault on the post, the hard wood was splintering under her small fists and her knuckles were bleeding as she gave no care for herself.

She was so caught up in what she was doing that she didn't notice the man coming into the training area, he disappeared within seconds and was soon replaced by an identical person

"HINATA!" Naruto ran towards the Hyuga looking terribly worried, Hinata who had been momentarily distracted from her battering actions felt bad that she had caused him to worry but within seconds she remembered why she was out here and turned back to what was left of the post

"Hinata what's wrong?" Naruto asked taking hold of her by her shoulders and forcing her to stare directly at him, he had never seen anyone this upset before, not in ages, he imagined that someone had died or been seriously hurt. "Hinata please, tell me what's wrong, I want to help!"

"Go away Naruto" Hinata told him trying to keep her voice from trembling

Naruto was shocked, when he had returned to the hospital and fund Hinata gone he had been worried, when he'd heard that she had left with a Hyuga he had panicked, creating multiple clones he had ordered a complete search of the village and had been relieved to find her training through one of his clones memories. "No, something's upset you and I want to know what" she shook her head avoiding eye contact "Please Hinata, I love you and…"

"No you don't" she snapped back confusing him greatly

"What do you mean? Of course I love you, I wouldn't say it if…"

Hinata pulled away from him shaking her head, her long hair whipped back and forth as she refused to listen "No! You don't love me…, I mean… you think you do but you only love me because you are destined to" Hinata muttered unable to see properly as her eyes filled with tears. It was all so infuriating, she finally got her one dream come true and then it was gone again.

"Hinata sweetheart I'm totally confused now" he slid an arm around her waist and pulled her closer "Tell me what's wrong."

"You're him!" Hinata sobbed onto his chest "You're the warrior prince, you only love me because you have to, because you were destined to! I should have known, I should have known that you couldn't like me! Who in their right minds would like me?"

Because she was crying and her face pressed against his chest it took Naruto a moment or two to work out what she was saying, finally when he felt he had sufficiently decoded her words he grinned to himself. **He** was her prince. Looking down he realised that she was in quite a state so he did the only thing he could think of to do, removing his arms from her waist he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled shaking her by the shoulders and staring into her eyes

"What?" she muttered miserably her face a complete mess from crying

Naruto felt like grinning even wider now, you know you're head over heels for someone when you think they look beautiful with red eyes and a runny nose "Do you love me because you are destined to?"

"Of course not" she sounded offended by the question

"Then why is it so different for me? Why must it be that you love me because you love me and I love you because I was destined to?"

"Because… because…" realising what he meant she shook her head "I don't know"

"I don't love you because I have to, I love you because you're sweet, and kind, and gentle" Naruto smiled down at her "If I only loved you because I was destined to then surely I would never have had crushes on anyone else, I'd have been blind to the beauty of anyone else, it's more likely that you only love me because you are destined to."

"No, that's not why I..." Hinata shook her head trying to pull away from him again "You're not listening to me, I'm not good enough for you"

"I'm not good enough for you" he countered still smiling

Hinata was surprised she hadn't expected him to start arguing back like this "I'm weak!"

"I'm Dumb"

"I'm emotional"

"I'm clumsy"

"I'm…" Naruto placed a hand over Hinata's mouth stopping her from saying more

"Hinata, we could keep this up for hours and while I love listing all my bad points, I don't think it's going to be good for either of us or our self esteem. Now you just listen to me, It doesn't matter what we think of ourselves right now, all we need to be aware of is the fact that we care for each other. Ok?"

Hinata gave a watery chuckle "I… I guess you're right."

Pulling a tissue from his pocket Naruto mopped at her eyes and nose affectionately "Of course I am" Naruto grinned as he gazed at Hinata "How could you doubt me like that?" he kissed her forehead "and I feel very insulted by that 'who in their right minds' comment!"

"Oh…" Hinata blushed a fiery red "I… I'm sorry I…" Naruto laughed at her before capturing her lips with his, after a long, literally breath taking kiss he laughed again.

"Hinata you're the only thing I really want right now, you as my girlfriend" he smiled at her "the fact I get to be your warrior prince just makes things better."

"My knight in shining armour" she whispered shyly feeling embarrassed that she'd overreacted. Thank God Naruto was so practical, he was right, she was being silly.

"Exactly" he agreed holding her close, as he felt her wind her arms around his neck and her forehead rest against his chest Naruto allowed his confident smile to drop. He was the one supposed to protect Hinata? He was supposed to stop that sicko Orochimaru from getting to her? She deserved someone better than him, he was a screw up, what the hell kind of alcohol had fate been drinking when she made him in charge of protecting someone as precious as Hinata?

* * *

Please R&R


	13. The Karuki town

I'm back again, sorry this fic's updates are so oddly spread apart, they should be a little more static from now on, I've finished one of my other major fics so I've only got two on the go right now (and all the oneshots), thanks for sticking with me.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

It was with a great deal of relief that Temari entered Konoha, the journey had not gone on as long as she thought it would, both Mai and Touya were steady walkers with a good deal of endurance, they had done exactly as Temari had instructed never once complaining about the distance.

Their first port of call was to be with the Hokage, that was evident, it just didn't quite go to plan, she led the way through the village but the journey seemed to take longer to travel the short distance than it had at any other point so far. Touya and Mai just couldn't believe some of the changes that had taken place since their last visit to the town. The Hokage monument looked more imposing than ever with the latest addition and they took to wandering off whenever Temari took her eyes off them to look at the various places that hadn't changed. Some shops that they had frequented during their time in the village were still open and still run by the same families, the Yamanaka flower store had caused them actually enter the shop as they went around. One moment they were walking towards the tower the next Temari was looking around madly trying to find them. She felt like a parent with two disobedient children, it was driving her crazy.

"Look I need to talk to Tsunade and I need you two there when I see her, can you just leave all the sightseeing until we've seen her?"

"We are dearie, we just happen to see… oh look it's Ichiraku's! Oh that must be his daughter, my she's grown…"

"NO!" Temari grabbed the older woman's arm only just keeping her temper "The sooner we go to see the Hokage the sooner we can take you to see Hinata and Hanabi… you want to see them right?"

"Of course" Mai nodded and suddenly began to trot towards the Hokage tower, Touya followed directly after her. Temari sighed before looking over at the rest of the team, they all grinned at her understandingly as she shook her head and followed the elderly couple.

Inside her office Tsunade looked at the small group before her, "and you're sure of this?"

"About as sure as I am of Hinata being the chosen one" Ino told her nervously "It would make sense Tsunade sama."

"I don't know… Naruto would indeed fit the bill but…"

"But what Tsunade sama?" asked Ino feeling a little angry now "I can not believe that you, like Sakura can't think of Naruto as the Warrior Prince just because of his reputation!"

"That is not why I question the matter Ino"

"Really, if you think about it the poem doesn't fit" Sakura argued "I think we all know that Naruto didn't have A life of privilege and great comfort, that was the life of the warrior prince. And we know that his family wasn't murdered by the one he trusted wholly An uncaring and ignorant mind was his only fault. It actually sounds more like Sasuke" there was choked laughter in the room as she said this.

"Yes but Hinata isn't a servant, things have changed and ok so maybe certain things about Hinata's life are the same but there are some big differences." Ino argued right back "And we are all positive Hinata is the Chosen One"

"And there's more" Tsunade interrupted "It is known amongst the kage's that hen they become kage they share a certain sort of fellowship. They are brothers and sisters to one another, this would definitely make Naruto something akin to a cousin of the Suna siblings… but… maybe there are only a few changes. I know that if Naruto's father or even his godfather had been allowed to take care of him that his life would have been more like it is described in the story, he might have even become… well" she stopped talking now merely thinking to herself 'I guess the demon fox changed all that'

"How could Naruto be akin to Gaara in that way when he isn't related to any of the Hokage's?" Shikamaru pointed out sneakily, the reason this was sneaky was because he suspected that he already knew the reason, he just wanted to make Tsunade say it out loud.

"Yeah" Ino agreed guilelessly "How could that be so?"

Tsunade could tell the difference in the questions, she guessed that Shikamaru was asking merely to annoy her but she refused to rise to it, with unexpected calm she announced "Naruto's father was the Fourth Hokage, as Gaara is the current Kazekage and was son to the current Kazekage I think that gives him a status that would make him an honorary cousin to the Subaku's"

At that point a timid knock sounded at the door and Shizune walked in "Ah, sorry Tsunade sama but Temari has arrived, she desires a meeting with you straight away."

"Send her in" Tsunade commanded enjoying the surprised looks on most of her shinobi's faces. The tall blonde welcomed the second tall blonde with a gracious inclination of her head "Temari san, but I see you are not alone."

"I couldn't send you a message telling you everything, it would have proven far to dangerous." She nodded to the others and waited for the door to close behind her

"What have you discovered?"

Turning to check the door Temari turned back to the Hokage "Are we safe to talk?"

"Perfectly"

"I have a suspicion over who the Warrior Prince is"

"Naruto" Ino said quickly smiling at the look of amazement on Temari's face as she did so.

"Yeah… how did you…. Never mind! We have made quite a few other discoveries as well, this is Mai and Touya, they are Hinata's grandparents… they know quite a lot about our current situation. They also helped us retrieve this" Temari pulled the handle of the axe from her bag and placed it onto the desk.

Tsunade stared down at the ornate handle in shock, reaching forward she traced along the ancient words and designs inscribed into the metal. "This is part of the axe…" looking up at the elderly couple she gave them a harsh look "You'd better have a good explanation for this."

---

"Let me see your hands" Naruto commanded pulling Hinata's hands away from his arms, he looked down at the scratched bruised knuckles and shook his head "Hinata this was really foolish, you shouldn't have hurt yourself like this"

"I'm sorry" Hinata muttered as he began to clean her wounded hands, they were sitting together leaning up against the post she'd been destroying when he found her, he looked up at it and shook his head.

"Were you using Chakra?"

"No"

Surprised at the damage she had done he whistled low before tending to her cuts pulling a water bottle from his pocket and pouring the liquid over her hands "Remind me never to make you mad, if you can do that much damage with no chakra I don't want to see what you do with it."

"I never use chakra when I'm mad" she told him with a shrug, "I never let myself, that way if I get into a fight with someone when I'm angry I won't hurt them."

"I see" Naruto nodded as he finished up "makes sense" he smiled up at her making her blush "Hinata, how do you know for sure that I'm the Warrior Prince?"

"Kenji came to visit me in the hospital, at first I thought it would have something to do with my seal or father but it wasn't, he knew thing about it. He told me there was a tapestry with a likeness of both the Warrior Prince and the Chosen One, it was you and me. If I'm definitely the Chosen One then you're the Prince, my Prince." She chuckled nervously.

"I see" Naruto nodded a slight frown marring his features "Tell me Hinata, how trustworthy is Kenji?"

"Very" Hinata nodded emphatically "Kenji Has been very god to me ever since I was first sealed, he went out of his way to help me adapt. Not only that but… he knows something about the axe"

"The Axe?" Naruto asked his eyes suddenly wide "Does he know where it is?"

"No, but the Hyuga Branch family are behind it's disappearance." He frowned obviously confused so she told him exactly what she had been told before seeing the tapestry.

"I see" Naruto's expression was dark as he thought it all through, he looked angry and Hinata bit her lip hoping it wasn't her he was mad with. "We need to see Tsunade now"

"Naruto, if we tell anyone what has happened the Branch Hyuga will be in a lot of trouble, the punishment will be to have their seal activated and…. I know how much that hurts."

"I don't care…" he saw her expression and kissed her hands affectionately "not about the seal stuff, I do care about that, but we need to see Tsunade, she'll know what to do. No one else could possibly help us with this."

"I guess" Hinata agreed looking unhappy "but I think we should take Kenji with us, he can explain it better."

"We'll get him later" Naruto wanted to get to Tsunade as soon as possible, he was panicking about all this and he really couldn't think straight right now. He needed the authority of someone higher up to help him make the important decisions. Taking Hinata by the hand he climbed to his feet and then pulled her up, sliding his arm around her waist they made their way to the Hokage tower.

-

Standing to his full height Orochimaru was in a towering fury as Kabuto admitted their mistake, he didn't care about the loss of life, he cared nothing for the destruction, but the waste of time and resources infuriated him beyond belief. He wanted results, anything less than perfection was not good enough for him.

"Where did Temari end up?" he asked getting right to the point

"We don't know, she was travelling with Konoha shinobi, we're going to check there next."

"And waste more time?"

"Do not forget sir the chosen one is now in the village, we need to find out where she is." Kabuto argued bravely "We are loyal to you my lord, but we can only do our best for you, had we followed this course years ago…"

"Silence!" Orochimaru's expression was thunderous as he watched Kabuto quaking "I had my own plans years ago, besides it is not as though you would have had greater knowledge as to where the items required are."

"My apologies" Kabuto bowed respectfully but he did not truly feel fear about his masters anger. As the proclaimed oracle Orochimaru needed him as much as he ever had, the people around the knew that Kabuto was the oracle and should he leave or be killed then Orochimaru's power over his position would wane.

"What other leads do we have on the axe?"

"None sir, I'm afraid that our searches have all led to a dead end."

"So we only have one element" Orochimaru frowned angrily "I am not an impatient man" Kabuto managed not roll his eyes and the people around him kept their scoffs silent as this was said "but I am not impressed with the progress here… I want the Chosen One, and I want her now. When we have her we shall have the leaf village at a disadvantage. They will not want one of their precious leaf nins to be harmed." He smirked as he descended into his chair "Tsunade will do anything to protect one of the Hyuga's, even if I means backing off."

--

"I'm afraid she has a group with her at the moment and she doesn't want to be disturbed" Shizune informed Naruto as he and Hinata requested entrance to the Hokage's office "And shouldn't you still be in hospital resting?" she asked Hinata in a scolding tone "It's not a good idea for you to be walking around until we're sure nothing was harmed when your father attacked you."

"It's really important that we see her Shizune, Hinata and I have discovered something of vital importance."

Shizune looked at them impatiently, she was about to go into the office when Tsunade's flung the door open yelling "Shizune, get me Naruto and… oh! Never mind, Naruto, Hinata, please come this way"

"Yes ma'am" Naruto agreed wanting to laugh at the shock on her face "Come on Hinata."

They walked into the office feeling a little surprised by the crowd she had gathered there. "You wanted to see us Hokage sama?" Hinata enquired looking around the room cautiously.

"Yes we have something to tell you both, you may find it surprising, and a little hard to understand but you must know that we are completely sure of this."

"What is it?"Naruto asked feeling a sneaking suspicion as to what she was going to say

"Naruto you're the Warrior Prince" Tsunade announced ceremoniously and was surprised when instead of reacting with surprise he and Hinata just nodded

"Yes, we know, it's not hard to work out" Naruto spoke in a monotone as though this was old news, he enjoyed the flabbergasted look on everyone's faces as they heard him, it was rare for him to be so knowledgeable on things like this, he liked to appear intelligent when he got the chance. He only just stopped himself from laughing as Tsunade was so shocked she just gaped at him in a very unHokagelike fashion.

"Ok…" Tsunade faltered briefly before declaring "we also now know that the Hyuga are the ones behind the disappearance of the axe!"

"We know that too" Hinata told her as she and Naruto exchanged a look as though to say 'it took them this long to work it out?'

"Is there anything you two don't know"

"Oh lots" Naruto shrugged grinning at the question "you just haven't said any of it yet… look we know that I am Hinata's protector through Kenji, one of the Branch members of the Hyuga, only branch members seem to know that Hinata is special. We are also positive it's me, I trust Hinata on that one." They exchanged a loving if slightly bashful smile as he spoke "as for the Axe, it was taken away, and hidden."

"Well we finally come to a fact you don't know" Tsunade sighed feeling relieved, the day Naruto knew more than her was the day she gave up sake! "Hinata, tell me what you know about your grandparents."

"My grandparents?" Hinata asked frowning at the Hokage "They are dead, they passed away long ago when I was very tiny… I'm not even sure if Hanabi was born when they died" she frowned trying to remember. "Why do you ask?"

"They didn't die… did Kenji tell you who had taken the Axe of Purgeance away?"

"No, he and I didn't speak for long about the axe, I wanted to see the tapestry they had, I wanted to see what the warrior prince looked like so I would know him when I met him. They suspected that he was… Minato Namizaki once upon a time, and that my mother was the Chosen One but… well they were wrong. What do you mean they didn't die?"

"Hinata, is there anyone in this room that seems familiar to you?" Tsunade asked hoping to ease what would be a shock to the poor girl, the Hyuga gave her an odd look before obediently turning to look around the room, she recognised a lot of people there but… she gazed for a long time at the elderly woman standing near Kankuro.

"Grandma?" Hinata asked staring at the woman before her "it looks like you but…."

"It is me" Mai told her, her eyes filling with tears "And your grandfather… you do remember him, don't you?" she placed a hand on her husbands arm and watched as Hinata's face lit up in recognition

"Of course" Hinata nodded she stepped forwards before faltering and moving back to her side next to Naruto "I'll never forget the stories you used to tell me,"

"You were an avid audience even as a baby" Touya told her reminiscently "we thought that the Hyuga genes were going to be strong in you, I hear that it's the exact opposite actually"

"Yes" the mention of her family reminded Hinata of all that had happened to her, her face became troubled and for the first time Ino noticed how pale and drawn Hinata looked.

"Tsunade I recommend that we get Hinata back to the hospital for a while" Ino moved forward to her friend's side "She should have stayed in for another twenty four hours after what happened, now here she is up and about." Ino's tone sounded scolding but she took her friends hand in a comforting gesture "I'll escort her back, she can speak with her grandparents there."

"Thank you Ino, I want both you and Sakura to keep an eye on her whilst she's there. Once she's settled we will discuss things further I need to do some serious thinking"

Naruto snickered as he left one arm secure around Hinata's waist, he moved his head near to her ear whispering "I'm pretty sure she meant serous drinking!" despite herself Hinata couldn't help but giggle, she whispered a brief 'behave yourself' before leaning her head on his shoulder, she felt very tired right now.

-

Walking into the Karuki village Gaara frowned, only one week ago he had received a message from the mayor telling him all was well and that the town was thriving. Now it was like a ghost town, there was no one in sight, the buildings were quiet, occasionally there would be lights on but there was never any evidence of recent activity.

He didn't understand it, after getting the message form Temari about the trouble she had sensed he had sent a small reconnaissance team to investigate Temari's worries but had received no word from them. Anxious he had decided that he himself would look into the occurrences, these were his people and they deserved proper protection if they needed it.

"SIR!" A voice came from his left and he quickly turned towards it

"Yes?"

"You'd better come see this, I think it explains a lot."

Inclining his head Gaara strode towards the man, as he got closer he sensed something familiar, the building he was headed towards reeked of death, fear and pain. Following his ANBU Gaara entered a large building that at one point had obviously been a meeting hall, the sight that met his eyes did indeed explain a lot. The team he had sent out lay in a mangled heap, it was hard to make out which body part belonged to which body so badly were they damaged. It was horrible, a sight that weaker men would have fainted dead away at.

Leaning over them Gaara inspected the dead bodies carefully, he had seen work like this before, he examined the way the bodies had been damages, this required real medical knowledge… where had he seen it before?

"Sir!" a new ANBU entered the room and bowed respectfully "I have found out what happened to the villagers"

"And?"

"Dead sir, all dead."

Surprised but not showing it Gaara turned back to the bodies, they had been ambushed, that much was clear, this had been prepared, that was why the villagers had been removed… but who would be coming here… Temari. She had been to the Shrine though, not the village. Perhaps there had been a miscommunication, or perhaps they had known she would sense the trouble and hoped she would respond to the bait. Anger coursed through his veins as he considered what would have been Temari's fate had she come to investigate as her team wanted, no doubt she would have put up a good fight but with two civilians to protect and goodness knows how many to fight she would not have succeeded.

Growling Gaara stood "Send word of this to Konoha at once, I want my best men here to investigate and trail the people responsible. Inform Konoha that Kabuto was here…"

"Kabuto sir?" the ANBU was surprised

"Yes Kabuto, we will return to Suna as soon as you have done so" he then turned to his second ANBU "Set up a fence around the town with signs to warn people that there is death here, I do not want potential family members to visit and find this."

"I could remain as well sir" the ANBU offered "I know my allegiance is to you but…"

"I know, explanations must be given. I can take care of myself, I have three more ANBU here with me… if you are willing to stay"

"I am sir"

"Very well" Gaara agreed not showing how impressed he was by this mans sacrifice, the smell of death was in the air and the atmosphere was that of desperate fear. To be honest, Gaara wouldn't want to stay here any longer than he had to.

--

Once again Tsunade had gathered together the Konoha eleven (Hinata is not present) and the team from Suna, she had spent the last forty eight hours trying to come up with some sort of battle plan but it had been very unrewarding, she liked simple issues like discovering an antidote for poison. It was simple, if you were right the patient lived, if not, they died. Here she was dealing with something she couldn't quite comprehend.

"A message from Suna" the young shinobi bowed as he presented Tsunade with the scroll that had arrived by bird, Tsunade took it from him and dismissed him with one hand. She then sat at her desk and began to read, her expression dimmed from her previous cheerfulness to complete anger, she looked at the shinobi in front of her before walking to the window and staring out angrily, she then lifted the scroll and began to read again.

"If I may be so bold" Temari spoke up saying what everyone else wanted to "But what is in that letter? If it's bad news from Suna…"

"The village of Karuki, the place you asked to have a team sent to has been destroyed."

There was silence and then Kiba spoke up "How?"

"It would appear that the Kazekage sent a team there but heard nothing, concerned he gathered a greater force together and went himself to inspect the place, he found the team he had sent beaten to death, they had obviously been tortured for information, the people of the town were found buried in a mass grave, they had been killed long before"

"How long before?" Temari asked the news weighing heavily on her heart

"They estimate about three days ago… there was nothing you could have done" Tsunade said soothingly "But we know who was there, and from that we can be pretty sure as to why the village was destroyed."

"Orochimaru" Naruto's fists clenched as he spoke

"His henchmen definitely" Tsunade nodded "According to Gaara it was the work of Kabuto on his dead men, he has seen it before. I think we know why they were there, it was an ambush, it was a good thing you didn't go to check what was out there. If you had we would have lost you all."

"They were after us" Temari whispered "that means that we have a leak"

"Most definitely" Tsunade agreed, Tsunade looked around at the angry shinobi in front of her, whilst most had no problem believing that Orochimaru and Kabuto would have no problem massacring an entire village it made them furious to know that all those people had died for no reason. She looked at them individually, from Neji, Lee and Tenten, to Naruto Sasuke, Sai and Sakura, next Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji then to Kiba and Shino. Finally her eyes rested on Temari and her team of Kane, Kankuro and Shion. "Are those two trustworthy?" Tsunade asked Temari looking at her team

"Very much so" Temari promised "I trust them with my life… besides if they weren't trustworthy Kabuto would have been waiting for us at the Shrine, not the town."

"True, alright shinobi stand to attention" everyone immediately stood up straight awaiting orders "I am entrusting you with a mission, this mission I will inform no other about and you shall never speak of it except amongst yourselves, this is of the highest priority and deserves the best security you can give me. Do you understand?" there was a loud 'yes' as everyone agreed without hesitation. "Very well. I am making you responsible for Hyuga Hinata's safety. Your mission is to protect her at all times, at the moment she is not even safe with her clan… she is leaving the hospital today, I need to find her somewhere secure to stay that doesn't have huge political implications. Options?"

"The Inuzuka or Aburame clan" Kiba looked at Shino and received affirmation before continuing "would be glad to take her in, it would be safe but could cause clan problems"

"Anyone else?" Tsunade asked

"I could take her in Sensei" Sakura offered "I'm living in the doctors housing at the moment, it's well protected and would cause no difficulties other than it being a medics only building."

"Hinata is trained as a medic, not fully but enough for it not to be a real problem" Tsunade decided before smiling at Sakura "very well"

Naruto smiled gratefully as Sakura nodded, he had wanted to offer his own place but knew it was not secure enough, he lived in an apartment block that anyone could get in and out of with no real trouble. Sakura's home was a bit of a fortress, he'd tried to visit her once and almost been imprisoned for not having the right papers.

"Very well, Hinata will stay there, next I need her to have round the clock protection, at night staying with Sakura she will be safe enough… though I will still place at least one of my most trusted ANBU to guard her, during the day I need Naruto, Kiba and Shino to stay with her at all times. Touya and Mai will be watched by the Suna contingent, we will place you in the embassy. Ino,Shika,Cho, I want you three to do more research on this, Ino you seem to be the one coming up with everything right now. I need answers, how was Orochimaru defeated in the past, how can it be done again, Sasuke, and Sai I need you to find a way of strengthening our defences, you have both worked in village security for long enough to know what you're doing, increase guard rotation, inform them it is because of what happened in Suna, tell them we expect to be struck next. Does everyone understand?"

Another resounding affirmative followed her speech, she smiled at them.

Frowning Naruto raised his hand "Tsunade?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"You said we only speak of this amongst the people here… Hinata isn't here."

"That's right… I don't want Hinata to know of this" Tsunade spoke sternly "As much as I trust her as a person she is still the main objective of Kabuto and Orochimaru's attacks. It would be best if she didn't know what happened in Karuki. I do not want her blaming herself… if she asks you about anything just tell her it is classified, I will have a word with her to tell her I have decreed this I have no doubt she will not take it well."

"But…" Naruto began to argue only to be stopped by a quelling glare from his Hokage

"Naruto, this is for Hinata's own good, we are not doing this to hurt her. If she knows that by looking for her Orochimaru killed over one hundred civilians she may be tempted to look for another way out. I won't let that happen."

* * *

I've been rereading the Manga recently and as I did it occurred to me that if someone who had lived in Konoha was to return to it after many years away there would be very little they recognised, Pein really did a number on that place and the painstaking artwork that went in to all the drawings was amazing. This is why I love Manga, the artwork is captivating, well thanks for reading.

Please R&R


	14. The orb of power

Hey anotamous go point out your plot holes elsewhere… besides even the Kyubbi's seal can be altered. So there! *Authoress sticks tongue out* Nah I'm only kidding, we'll discover more about the axe here, I had planned for more to happen in this chapter but as it turns out this one is a little bit more detailed than the last I've had more time to work on it as I've been unwell and had to spend all day in bed. I hope to get the next one up in a week or so.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Standing in Tsunade's office with Temari, Kenji and Neji, Naruto looked less than happy, he had spent this morning with Hinata watching over her whilst she reacquainted herself with her grandparents. After giving her a clean bill of health Ino had decided that this afternoon would be a good time for Hinata to move in with Sakura, Kiba and Shino had arranged to go with her to the Hyuga compound where they would pick up what she wished to take. He wanted to help her with this, he wanted to be with her almost every minute to keep an eye on her, To make sure it all went smoothly Tsunade had pulled Hiashi away from his home and ordered him to do village council tasks until the end of the day. She had considered revealing to him the truth of the matter but Hinata had begged her not to, the Branch house would be in a lot of trouble should Hiashi ever discover what they had done.

Now the Hokage was having a short meeting to discover what the best course of action would be, Temari wanted to fight, the knowledge of what had happened in Karuki had angered her greatly. Kenji believed that removing Hinata from the village entirely would be for the best, Neji was all for launching a sneak attack on Orochimaru and assassinating him. Surprisingly Naruto had backed Neji up, he believed that it would be for the best as it was the best way to act whilst keeping the death count low.

"I still don't understand one thing. Why did you get the handle from its hiding place?" Naruto asked Temari, he couldn't understand it, from what he had been told the handle had been hidden in a place no one would even begin to think to look. It would have taken Orochimaru years to find it and even longer to find the next part.

"We thought it would be best to have the axe in our care" Temari informed him. "We only have the handle, we will need to find the rest with Mai's help"

"That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. You should have left the Axe handle hidden" Naruto declared angrily "you should leave the rest of it hidden, if it's hidden in a place no one would think to look then it won't get found by Orochimaru and as the only person who knows where it is, is Mai, they won't ever find it. By bringing even part of the axe into the open you're just making its location known to more people. And you just know that when people work out that we knew where part of it was they'll guess that we know where the rest of it is!"

"You make a good point" Tsunade agreed sitting back in her chair she kept her eyes on Naruto's face, she wasn't surprised by his logic and the thinking he was putting into this but she was impressed with how much he had thought about it "still you must also agree that if a way can be found to destroy or even hide the axe better it would be worth having it in the open."

"No I don't agree, they've stayed hidden for all this time, they could've stayed where they were for decades, as long as Touya and Mai never told anyone Hinata would nave been safe, by bringing them into the open you've endangered her life even more." Naruto told her daringly "Everything we try to do to keep Orochimaru away can be counteracted against, the axe can't be destroyed… I know we can keep trying but, the axe is supposed to be silver, right?"

"Right"

"Then why couldn't they damage it before? There is something about the axe that makes it indestructible, if in a past life Orochimaru managed to get the death god to promise that he could return I'm willing to believe he made sure that the items he needed wouldn't be damaged by people fighting him."

"But then that would mean this could go on forever and ever."

"No" Neji shook his head looking thoughtful "so far neither side has won, the Tyrannical Monarch has never managed to wholly rule again but the prince and chosen one have never beaten him either. According to what we know one or both of them always died before their time."

"You think we need to break the sequence?" Kenji asked "if Naruto and Hinata survive the death of Orochimaru and… live happily ever after you think things will end?"

"I do, of course I also think that if Orochimaru succeeds we will be forever under his rule." Neji told him determinedly "We need to find a way for Naruto to beat Orochimaru, we need to know how he did it the first time… lets hope our researchers come up with something."

Shaking his head Naruto sighed, he was really hoping that the Ino-Shika-Cho team came up with something, after all at some point he was expected to fight Orochimaru and instead of it just being his life in the balance it was Hinata's. Hinata's and everyone else's as well, 'Now that's a helluva lot of pressure to put on a guy' he muttered to himself.

--

"How's it going?" Shikamaru asked as Ino leaned back in her chair and stretched

"Not good, I've managed to find the Hinata who they think was the first reincarnation after the original."

"Really?" Shikamaru was impressed, across the table Choji looked up with his questioning gaze focussed on Ino "Where?"

"Well she had to be a Hinata Hyuga, right?"

"Right"

"And according to Hinata's grandparents she was a farmers daughter"

"Correct" Choji nodded remembering what Temari had told them

"Well I've managed to go through the records, finding Hyuga's that were from farming families and concentrating on that because… well if I went through all the Hyuga's I'd never finish. Anyway, I found this one… Hinata Hyuga, in the town census" she pointed to the page she was on "It gives a few details about her family, at the time of the census she was twenty two, she was still at home but it was just her, her sister one Hanabi Hyuga and her father. Hiashi… if I ever needed more proof for all this then I'd go by these names alone… this is so much more than coincidence. The problem is, the next census, five years later, she's not even there, her father is listed, and her sister is married and living under a different name but… I can't find Hinata."

"She must have died in between the census" Shikamaru frowned "Twenty two… that's a lot older than any of the others were."

"Maybe she just didn't meet her warrior prince or Monarch before then."

"Have you searched the same area for Uzumaki, or Namizaki's?" Shikamaru asked

"Not yet, I've only just found her, but that doesn't mean anything, these listings pay no attention to the more nomadic tribes… if he was part of the Romani culture then he would never have been recorded."

"What about death certificates?" Choji asked pausing one hand as it made it's way to his mouth "If she's dead… I mean, she obviously is now, but if she died after that census there must be a record of it somewhere" that said Choji stuffed a handful of crisps into his mouth.

"I'm looking, but this was all years ago, we've been lucky to find anything at all considering how little they thought of taking census's and stuff" Ino rubbed her eyes tiredly "this place only cared about the census because it helped them know how much they were to expect in taxes every year. This place seemed to have spent the next years taxes before they even came in."

Silence reigned over them for a while until Shikamaru made a triumphant noise

"What is it?" Choji asked hopefully

"I've found the Namizaki's, Ino's right they were nomads, but, they were very well known and wealthy nomads. Look here" Shikamaru pointed to his own book looking pleased with himself "they were a warrior family, people would hire them for protection"

"That would explain why they fit with the name warrior prince. What does it say about their fighting styles, anything that could help out Naruto?"

"No nothing, but we do have record of a Naruto Namizaki from the nomad tribe killing a despotic ruler!"

"So how did the past Naruto's beat the monarch?" Ino asked looking across at Shikamaru's notes "I mean… he's done it at least once, maybe twice now! And what happened to the Hinata of that timeline?"

"I know… looking back at the information the Branch family have provided us with he's only succeeded for definite once, the only other proper recording of the couple has them dying together and him living on. The chosen one was not killed by the axe, she was drowned so he couldn't use her blood because she hadn't been killed by the axe. This could be a second time he managed to kill him but… it still doesn't give us the how!"

"Still there must be a way for every reincarnation to kill the Monarch, I can't believe that the divine goddess they speak of would be so short sighted as to send them back without a way to save themselves."

"Hey look at this" Choji spread the book he had been reading wide and pushed it towards his team mates "this is information about the rulers of the desert cities, take a look at these"

Together Ino and Shikamaru stared down at the page, the information spoke of a legendary ruler known as the tyrannical monarch. "Perfect! This gives us more about the first incarnation" Ino exclaimed before dragging the book closer and reading aloud "The monarch killed his own brother in order to retain his control of his country, for many years he was the undisputed ruler not even the true heir (his nephew, see fig011) tried to claim the throne from him. The ruler was known for his despotic rule and the lack of democracy and justice in his country. It wasn't until he executed his nephews intended, a Hyuga, that any attempt was made to overthrow him. The Maelstrom from the house Namizaki took down his uncle but lost his own life in the attempt. Many legends now surround the story and many claim the story to be nothing more than a myth but one thing is known, the characters indeed existed, the family of Namizaki that resided in the desert dwindled though the name carried on elsewhere, the Hyuga family originated from Suna and left at the same time that the Namizaki's died out." Ino frowned before questioning Choji "I don't understand how this helps"

"See Fig011" Choji suggested with a smile

Turning the page to find the correct diagram Ino's mouth dropped open "Wow"

"What?" Shikamaru took the book from her and had to admit to being surprised "The Azure orb of power, it's a shield" the picture was a meticulous diagram of the shield and took up two whole pages, upon the shield designs were wrought in different blues until they came to a spiral at the centre. "So when Naruto fights Orochimaru he needs this!"

"Where do we find it?" Ino asked hopefully

"That's the only problem" Choji informed her "I've looked through this book as carefully as I can, there's nothing about where the shield is currently, there are however two pages missing after this one, it jumps about fifty years in the book and totally misses out any history of Gaara, Kankuro or Temari who we know ruled next."

"Someone destroyed the evidence, it's like whoever else is in on this is teasing us, letting us know just enough to get our hopes up and ten dashing them" Ino grunted angrily "So we've still got nothing?"

"I wouldn't say that" Shikamaru told her his face fixed in contemplation, "Let's talk to the people that are more likely to know about this."

"Mai and Touya" Ino nodded rising immediately to her feet "Come on, I know where they're staying."

--

"We have three teams prepared Master" Kabuto explained to Orochimaru as the two of them surveyed the map of Konoha "It is likely that Hinata will be here" he directed the snakelike mans attention to the Hyuga compound on the map.

"It will be a covert operation then?" Orochimaru asked considering the plans in front of him.

"Yes, whilst we could go in and cause havoc in order to retrieve the Hyuga it would not help us at all. In doing that we'd be bringing attention to our operation, we don't know for sure yet if they know what Hinata means to us. By surreptitiously going in and taking her out again no one will know where to look."

"A logical plan" his master admitted

"We will also not only be hitting the Hyuga compound, there is a likelihood that she may be on a mission our sources in Konoha have no way of verifying her presence for us, with this in mind I am sending two teams to the compound whilst I myself will lead the third team to the Hokage tower. This will mean that we have ample time to search."

"How will you avoid the Byakugan whilst searching for the Hyuga?"

"A simple genjutsu will enable us to search thoroughly, the guards at the compound will have been… taken care of enough that they will not notice" Orochimaru raised a questioningly eyebrow "I have a spy within the compound, whilst asking them to out and out kill would bring attention to them a weak drug will pass by unnoticed, she's more than willing. The plan is not foolproof but by the end of this we'll either have the Hyuga or at least know of her location outside the village."

"Kabuto you have failed me twice now," he didn't allow his henchman to protest as he continued to speak "and I will not allow you to fail a third time, if you do not retrieve Hinata Hyuga you will suffer greatly."

Kabuto bit back a retort not wanting to infuriate the man, Orochimaru was more snakelike than most people would realise, he could be easily managed when he was in a good mood but once he was infuriated or emotionally moved in almost anyway he was dangerous to a point where anyone that crossed him, no matter how much Orochimaru was likely to need them in the future, was in mortal danger.

--

"We need to find that shield, if Naruto fights with it his chances of beating Orochimaru heightens considerably" Shikamaru explained to the elderly couple "Do you know anything about where it could be?" They had brought the picture with them to show the couple and both had immediately reacted excitedly, they recognised it, they had seen it.

"Not much" Touya shook his head "I'm pretty sure that the tribe would have carried on and taken it with them."

"Surely not" Mai cut in "History tell us that the only family that would use the shield would be the Namizaki's and didn't they have at thing about burying weapons with the deceased."

"Well it's possible" Touya agreed "But unlikely, the tribe he belonged to still exist in the desert. It would have most likely been passed on to the next Namizaki family member, after all we know that the name continued with them for several years."

"Wait, Naruto might still have family out there?" Ino asked surprised, she had always wondered why Naruto had absolutely no other family in Konoha. It was so unlikely that he would have no one, after all even if her parents were to die she had countless cousins and other relatives to depend on.

"Well yes" Mai nodded unsurprised "you see his great grandfather… or grandfather I don't remember which, travelled by here and decided to settle, the rest of the tribe moved on."

"Do you know where they went?" Shikamaru asked hopefully

"That would mean nothing now, it was a long time ago and they would have moved on again…"

"Surely they'd be following the old trading routes" Mai spoke questioningly "After all, we do know that the old trade routes used to run along here."

"So they might be coming back?" Ino asked hopefully

"Not any time soon, the routes follow a hundred year long track, the move throughout the known continent staying in one place for years at a time, that way their secrets are kept. They are after all still noble warriors. As far as I know they keep to the old ways of training and preparing for the…"

"Well where does the route go?" Ino asked cutting in rather rudely, she was getting a little annoyed by the way these two drifted from the real point, in her mind Hinata and Naruto were the priority now, not discussing random facts that bore no relevance to the task at hand.

"Let me think" Touya paused in thought "The route would probably put them on the other side of Kumo right now."

"Oh" Shikamaru looked disappointed, he'd hoped that they'd be closer

"Well that's no too bad" Ino spoke decidedly "If we were to use out fastest forms of travel it could take us mere days to find them, if we use birds especially because that way we'd have an even better view."

"Are you seriously suggesting that at a time when Konoha could be in a lot of danger we leave?" Shikamaru asked surprised by the suggestion.

"Why not?" Choji asked totally agreeing with Ino "It's not like she's suggesting loads of us go, I recommend that we take a couple of Hyuga, Naruto ought to come as well as they're his family."

"I guess it's doable… but if I were Orochimaru I'd be watchful for any kind of activity that was leaving Konoha"

"Well maybe if we're lucky Orochimaru won't be as smart as you… lets face it, not many people are. If you didn't look like such a pineapple then I'm sure you'd have the nickname egghead."

Shikamaru wished he could come up with a suitable retort but unfortunately all he could think of to say was 'shut up' so wisely he decided silence and a shrug would be the best option. 'Tis better to be thought a fool and say nothing,' he thought to himself

"Than to speak and remove all doubt" Ino finished in a sing song voice

"Did I?" Shikamaru asked looking bemused "Did I say that aloud?"

"No, I just know you far" Ino placed a finger on his nose "to" his chin "Well" and finally on his lips. Turning she away she missed the blush "Lets go guys, we need to see Tsunade!" and with that she was out the door

One look at the three remaining people in the room told Shikamaru that although Ino had missed his blush and what it meant the others hadn't.

"Lets go Choji" Shikamaru drawled grabbing his friends arm and dragging him out.

--

"I don't feel comfortable sending anyone out on missions at the moment, I have been pulling most of my shinobi back within the walls and cutting down on missions almost entirely" Tsunade told the five in front of her, the Ino-Shika-Cho had been lucky enough to bump into Naruto and Neji as they headed to see Tsunade, as a result they had exactly the team they needed in order to leave and follow the tribe.

"C'mon, this could be the very thing we need to stop Orochimaru and keep Hinata safe!" Naruto pleaded

"Are you sure that your feelings aren't clouding your judgement here Naruto?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you deny that the fact that you are hoping to find some family out there hasn't played some part in your decision Naruto?" Tsunade asked giving the blond a severe look

"I've survived without family for a long time Hokage-sama, I could wait a bit longer if I wanted to but this is about protecting the village and Hinata… and before you ask, my wish to protect Hinata is the primary motivator here. I don't deny that my feelings over her safety aren't first in my mind."

Tsunade had a small smile curling her lips as she stared at Naruto, she could actually see how honest he was being here. She knew him well and he was a very honest young man, he was also a determined young man, nothing would make him stay whilst there was a chance at helping solve their current dilemma.

"Very well, the five of you will travel with Kakashi in the direction where we believe the tribe's located. Once there you will have twenty four hours to locate them, if you do not find them you will return straight away, if you find them you have a further twenty four hours to get information from them then you return, you leave in one hour"

"So soon?"Neji asked surprised "That's unusual"

"Given the leaks that Suna had I will not risk the same happening within my walls, the sooner you leave the less time the enemy will have to prepare an ambush. I will not lose Shinobi over this or risk damaging my village"

"Understood" Neji bowed slightly in response "How shall we find Kakashi?"

"He'll meet you at the gate and will not be late"

"First time for everything" Naruto muttered as they left the office.

Hearing this Tsunade grinned in an evil fashion towards the window, "He won't be late… will he?"

"Not at all, I'm surprised you let me sit here for so long whilst they were talking."

"If I hadn't wanted you to hear and had it been anyone else I would have sent you flying across the village with half your teeth missing." Tsunade smirked as Kakashi cringed at the threat "That being said I want you at the gate in half an hour"

"You gave the others a full hour"

"Yes, and for once you are going to experience waiting for the others to show up… and if you are not front of that gate in half an hour we may revisit that halfway across the village with half your teeth missing thing. Got it?" he nodded sheepishly "Good"

And so it was Kakashi stood ready and waiting at the gate before anyone else even arrived.

"He's a fake" Naruto accused teasingly only to receive a light-hearted slap from Ino

"Stop kidding around" she told him angrily

"That's it?" Naruto asked surprised "Oh MAN! Why couldn't I have been on your team Ino, you don't hit as hard as Sakura"

"Are you saying that I'm weaker than her?" Ino asked dangerously sounding very much like she was about to prove to Naruto how strong she really was.

"No just that you're nicer" Naruto answered smoothly not caring about the way Shikamaru and Choji rolled their eyes at this incredibly obvious sweetening tactic.

"Aw thank you" Ino responded happily, "I wouldn't have hit you now anyway" she informed him pointing behind him "I've seen Hinata get mad and it's not nice."

Turning to face where Ino was pointing Naruto grinned ecstatically "Hinata!!" the young Hyuga was walking quickly towards him followed by a typically quiet Shino "You got my message!"

"I did, what's going on? Where are you going?"

"We have an idea that could help us" He explained evasively "We're heading out to follow it up"

"There's something you're not telling me" She said suspiciously

"No there isn't" he said quickly… a little too quickly, grabbing his arm Hinata dragged him off to one side.

"What is it?" Hinata asked frowning at Naruto's refusal to speak "Why won't you tell me what's going on? Where you're going? Please tell me it's nothing dangerous."

"I'll be perfectly safe… look I can't tell you any more"

Hinata sighed impatiently at his words "Because I'm the one that needs to be protected?"

"Pretty much"

"This is ridiculous"

"I know it must suck, but we're doing this to protect you."

"But that's' so stupid, chosen one or not I am still a shinobi of this village, am I not allowed to have the chance to defend myself and those I hold dear?"

"You know the rules Hinata, you're the mission now, I really can't tell you anything." Naruto sighed as the young woman in front of him gave him a speculative look "As soon as I'm allowed I'll tell you what I can. OK?" She nodded reluctantly, she knew she could guilt trip him some more, she was even pretty sure that if she worked hard enough she'd be able to get him to tell her. But it would be cruel, and try as she might she just could not be mean to Naruto.

"Alright," Hinata laid one hand on his arm "Just… promise me you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you because of me."

"I promise" Naruto agreed readily, he grinned at her, it was nice to have someone really care about his welfare, to know someone really cared about him. "Look I have to go, do you mind if we put off our date till another time?"

"It can't be helped… I don't mind" Hinata shook her head not showing her disappointment, she merely hugged him pressing her lips to his. "I'll miss you"

"I'll be back before you know it!" he promised embracing her one last time before he walked out the gate with his team.

Hinata sighed as she watched them go, she turned and gave Shino a small false smile

"Where to next?" Shino asked as cheerfully as he possibly could

"I have to return to the compound briefly, I forgot to speak to the kitchen staff about not being there for a while… It's not really important but I ought to make sure they know, it's only polite."

Together Hinata and Shino walked away from the gate and wound their way around the streets of Konoha to the Hyuga compound. They entered the kitchens straight away, Shino stood quietly at the doorway watching as Hinata walked around greeting various members of the Branch family as she went.

"Good evening Jun" Hinata greeted one young man standing helping to prepare the evening meal "How is everything?" she received no response as usual, Jun was a young branch member that had never adapted to his situation in life. Before his sealing his parents had attempted to overthrow the Hyuga leader and lost their lives in the process, she and every other Hyuga had tried their hardest to help him adjust but he was very similar to how Neji had been at one point. Neji himself had attempted to talk to him and help him to see that their situation was not hopeless but it had failed.

She sighed hopelessly before turning to greet one of the other chefs, they exchanged a brief joke. She informed him that she would be absent for a few days but all things considered one meal less didn't make a lot of difference to the kitchen. She managed to escape all questions of where she was going to be whilst she was away but Shino could see that they were all suspicious. Jun in particular took an interest in Hinata's absence, he raised his eyebrows suspiciously but couldn't leave to follow her. Instead he just picked up the chopping board and moved towards the pot, there he slowly added the vegetable… and swiftly pulled a bottle from his pocket and poured it into the stock.

All food in the Hyuga house was taste tested one hour before it was served to the Main Branch but that wouldn't matter, the effects of this wouldn't manifest for hours and when they did no one would even notice it.

--

Sitting back in her chair Tsunade frowned, in front of her stood Mai and Touya, despite everything Naruto had said she had come to a decision about the axe. He had been right when he said that if anyone found out that one part was here then they'd guess that they knew where the second part was, Mai was the only one who knew where that was and kidnapping her could lead to trouble in Konoha. She also knew that it was somewhere in the hidden village, and that was she needed to know to think that her home might be in danger.

"I want to know where the axe is, I want it placed under my care and protection."

The elderly couple exchanged a look, it was clear that they had discussed this before "Very well" Mai agreed "It's been very close to you for sometime."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked with a frown "Close to me?" Mai said nothing but her sly smile told Tsunade that she was not thinking about it in the same way that the elderly Hyuga was

"You, the third… technically all of the Hokage's have protected it"

"But the axe…" Tsunade's eyes widened and she spun her chair around to look at the window, looking out she faced the Hokage monument in some surprise. "You're kidding me?" turning back she faced the smirking Mai "It's there somewhere, it's been there all this time?"

"Where else could I hide such a thing and be sure it would be safe… Protecting the village and its people, there is nothing else that the Hokage's do so well."

* * *

Aha, a sneaky couple of Hyuga's, we haven't seen one of those before!!

Please R&R


	15. The family issues

Well this is a lot quicker than my last gap so I'm kind of proud especially considering that it's 2 in the morning for me and I have to work tommorrow, but I guess I shouldn't have wasted an hour watching silent witness earlier.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

"Let me see…." walking along the edge of the cliff Mai looked down at the village "If I remember correctly" she turned back to look away from the village and began to walk to the back of the monument, suddenly at what seemed like a totally random spot she tapped the ground with her stick "Here, help me a moment" Temari who had been standing with them moved forwards and helped the older woman to kneel, Mai was eased down with a clicking of joints "That's enough now" she waved her helper off and placed both her hands on the ground "I'd step back if I were you" she warned Tsunade and Temari, immediately both of them dropped back to watch from a more secure standpoint.

Spreading her hands further apart Mai began to run her hand over the rough surface, then, leaning to her left she made a triumphant noise. She reached towards her neck and pulled a pendant form her neck, biting a finger she drew blood and wiped it upon the necklace. Eyes closed she began to perform seals, she moved slowly using no chakra just practicing the combination until finally her Byakugan was activated, Chakra was forced through her fingers and the seals she had practiced were performed again at a greater speed.

"RELEASE!" The final word was spoken softer than any of the others but the strain in Mai's voice made the other two women worry. It was even more worrying that nothing was happening, Temari was about to say something when the earth under Mai's hands started to rise, it was as though an animal was burrowing it's way up to the surface as the earth rose swarming with blue chakra.

The ground around Mai seemed to shake but the woman paid no heed to it, her eyes blazed with determination until finally with one last burst of chakra a piece of glowing metal came spinning from the ground. The sharp implement span around dangerously heading towards Mai.

"LOOK OUT!" Temari yelled ready to run forward and help her but Tsunade kept a hand on her arm

"Stay back, it's controlled to kill whoever brings it to the surface and all those around it, it'll hit you as well."

"But she…" as Temari directed their attention back to Mai they watched the woman raise the pendant she had pulled from her neck and perform three quick seals.

The spinning blade froze in mid air before dropping harmlessly to the ground.

Picking up the silver blade Mai then turned to smile at them "I put in a few security measures in case anyone happened to find out where it was, I wasn't entirely confident that I wouldn't crack under pressure."

"I can see why you told us to back off… are you alright?" Tsunade viewed the elderly lady with some concern

"Just very low on Chakra" Mai informed them struggling to get to her feet, immediately both of her spectators ran forward and helped to raise her up "Thank you both… I must admit that it's at times like this I envy your technique" she gave Tsunade a knowing look that made the blonde grin.

"At least someone realises that it's not all about vanity when I use this. It has many practical uses as well." Tsunade helped the woman to stand "Do you want to go to the hospital and get checked out?"

"No, the main reason this took such a toll on me was because I am severely out of practice, I never got a chance to really use my chakra whilst we were in Suna, it could have blown our cover."

Nodding understandingly Tsunade took the blade from Mai and marvelled at it's condition, there was not a blotch on the smooth surface, no scratches, no stains, and it was as sharp as though it had only been honed that very day. Obviously whatever was protecting the axe ensured that it was kept in good condition ready for the kill. Despite her protestations that she was alright Mai looked very weak and the two women decided that it would be best if she did get some rest. Knowing how much she would hate being admitted to the hospital they deposited her in one of the on call rooms at the hospital so that she wasn't actually a patient. She had protested angrily demanding that she be near the axe until it was hidden again but soon the softness of the mattress below her convinced her that it was in her best interests to remain where she was.

"I want you to hide that axe well" she told Tsunade with a severe look in her eyes "My grand daughter…" she shifted to settle back against the pillows more "If anything happens to her…" she rose up again looking ready to do battle.

"I'll protect her, I promise"

"You had better, the fate of us all depends on what will happen over the next few days." So saying the elderly lady lay back against the pillow and closed her eyes "I know you think I am over exaggerating, and you doubt the truth of it all but it is real. If Orochimaru get's the axe Hinata then all will be over."

Still rambling Hinata's grandmother slowly dropped off to sleep.

Tsunade and Temari exchanged a smile leaving Mai to sleep, walking through the hospital Tsunade studied the sleek metal running her fingers over the entire surface.

"It has been hidden there for so long" Temari murmured with a frown on her face "Perhaps Naruto was right, by bringing these things to the surface we have caused more trouble than we ever would have had without them"

"Perhaps we have… if Jiraiya were still here I'd give this to him, tell him to take it seal it away somewhere and trust that it was truly safe…"

"Is that why you wanted it, because you didn't trust them?"

"I trust very few people in this world, the more I see of it all the less I trust people. I trust myself to hide this and no one else." Temari frowned at this, she had to admit that in one respect Tsunade was right, the numerous leaks they had in Suna had taught her that merely trusting people because they had proven themselves once or twice was dangerous, very dangerous.

--

After a few days of travel Naruto was glad to see their destination on the horizon, they had literally flown across the land searching carefully as they went. They had arrived at the site the elderly couple had pinpointed as a search area and stopped to take a quick rest, Neji who had been searching almost constantly allowed him self a rest. They began to walk to the west where, according to the map, there was a river and they headed to refill their water bottles, their walk took less than an hour and they paused by the river enjoying a moment of relaxed silence when Ino stood and stared down the river "What's that?" Ino asked pointing to an odd spot on the horizon, she squinted as the sun affected her sight "Can you guys see that?"

Activating his bloodline limit Neji stared in the direction she had pointed forcing himself to look further "It looks like a campsite, I can't see it to well but it's hard to tell from here. They're on the other side of the lake."

"Let's get closer" Kakashi ordered, the team began trudging down the river back following the curve of the water "Looks like we'll have some questions answered soon" Kakashi said pointing towards the series of tents and caravans that had been set up on the edge they were crossing.

Before they got within a mile of the camp a figure appeared on the dusty horizon, as the figure came closer it became obvious that it was a woman, she was tall and slender, long dark hair flowed smoothly in the wind, she wore a long blue robe and across her back she carried a bow and arrows.

"I must ask that you stop there" she called, they obeyed waiting for her to come closer.

"We're travelling further to the north, we were hoping to find supplies" Kakashi spoke watching her carefully. He wasn't going to be honest with these people yet, he wasn't sure how much he could trust them.

"Welcome travellers" the woman that greeted them was about the same age as the younger members of the group, she bowed respectfully to Kakashi "I do not know why you have travelled here so far from civilisation. I strongly advise you to head back, we are an unwelcoming tribe but we have our reasons."

"We're looking for someone" Naruto cut in deciding that complete honesty would be best here. "Some people."

"Indeed, there is no one out here other than my tribe" she gave him a long speculative look "you look familiar though… may I ask your name?" her deep brown eyes stared at him very curiously.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki" he paused a little before adding "Namizaki"

"Uzumaki - Namizaki?"

"Yes, I am here to ask questions of my family" the addition of the second name was apparently a good idea as it caused some surprise on ht young woman's face.

She hesitated torn between believing him and her ingrained mistrust of strangers "What questions do you ask?"

"I need to know where the Azure orb of power is"

Her eyes widened almost comically "Oh"

"As always you're the king of diplomacy and tact" Kakashi sighed shaking his head "Can we speak to someone who can help. It's important"

"I will take you to see the clan leaders, it will be up to Naoki our leader to decide how we deal with all this" she frowned at Naruto one last time before turning and beckoning them to follow. "This way"

"Thanks" Naruto caught up to their guide and grinned easily at her "What's your name?"

Surprised the young woman gave him a small smile "My middle name is Mayu, it's probably best you address me by that"

"Why?" Naruto tilted his head to one side "is it wrong for me to call you by your first name?"

"No, it's just that… all females in my tribe are given the same first name, the males all have the same official first name"

"Well that's kind of silly"

"It's a safety measure…" Mayu gave him a dazzling smile "My first name, and the first name of every other girl here, is Hinata"

"What?" stumped Naruto actually stopped walking "Why the hell would an entire clan call the girls by that name?"

"I should think it was obvious," she smiled nervously at him "they all want their daughters to be the chosen one."

"They want them all to be potential sacrifices? Now that's just plain stupid!"

"Tell me about it!" Mayu laughed as she continued to walk with them to the campsite. "You'll fit right in though… I mean if all the girls are called Hinata what do you think all the boys are called?"

--

"You didn't have to clean up" Sakura spoke apologetically looking around with a frown "I'm so busy at the hospital that I don't often have time to…" she felt embarrassed, Hinata had only spent one night here and already the amount of fast food containers and scrolls that littered the place was lowered, her bad habits were not the kind of image she wanted to show to anyone.

"Sakura." Hinata smiled placatingly "It's fine, besides it's not like you knew I was coming… believe it or not my own living situation would be very similar if there weren't cooks in the Hyuga house. I never have the time or energy to cook. I mean, between missions, the hospital, attempting to have a social life and training there are certain day to day tasks you can't fit in"

"You fit in a social life?" Sakura asked picking up a few medical journals that Hinata had placed on the table "I think these are two years out of date… where were they?"

"Under the coffee table… I didn't want to throw it away because I wasn't sure if you wanted to keep it… I figured we could sort through them now… don't worry it could have been worse, one time at Naruto's I actually found a half eaten cup of ramen that had fur growing on the top"

"That's disgusting"

"He was appalled as well… although I think that had more to do with the waste of ramen" Hinata giggled hiding her mouth behind her hand "By the way I was going to do some shopping later… for some unknown reason" Hinata rolled her eyes as she said 'unknown reason' "Kiba's insisting on coming with me"

"You've figured it out then?"

"I'm a ninja, more than that I'm a Hyuga, I know when I'm being tailed by an enemy over twenty miles away, I can tell when my friends are being ordered to watch my back 24/7."

"We wanted to tell you everything but Tsunade…"

"It's OK Sakura" Hinata shrugged it off with a smile, "I'm just annoyed that I'm not allowed to work, she keeps fobbing me off telling me that my mission is to stay safe and well… it doesn't feel right taking a paycheque for nothing"

"I can get her to let you do some stuff at the hospital if you like, It'll have to be on the research wing cause I'm stuck there over the next few months but…"

"I'd like that" Hinata told her with a small smile "Trust me anything id better than sitting around at home waiting to hear news from Naruto"

"I'm sure he's ok, he's too determined to let anyone kill him without it being his decision." Sakura was rewarded with a larger smile from Hinata as the two of them began to look through the old journals.

--

Hiashi Hyuga frowned at Tsunade as she spoke with him, he wasn't particularly in good favour with her and she wasn't with him but he was still a shinobi and whatever the Hokage required of him he would give. "I must ask… Why do you need these extra guards? What is the reason why you re taking over half of my own personal guard?"

"I cannot give you details… I do have something in my office that needs protection" this wasn't necessarily true, the item would be in her office later but for now it was sealed inside a scroll and hung at her waist "I need it to have the best protection it can have and your clan can give me that" Silently accepting the praise the Hyuga head merely raised an eyebrow "I will not tell you what they are protecting, nor will I tell them, their job will be to watch, no one will be allowed in or out of my office… there is nothing more to say."

Hiashi's eyes glanced at the clock "Very well, I shall send round a team of Hyuga after our evening meal… we will be eating in a quarter of an hour, would you care to join us?"

"Thank you but no thank you" Tsunade turned and walked towards the doorway of Hiashi's office.

"Hokage-sama?" it was the nervousness in Hiashi's voice as he spoke that made Tsunade spin around so quickly, his expression was odd, if she didn't know better she'd say it was afraid.

"What is it Hyuga-sama?"

There was a long pause, one that would normally have made Tsunade impatient but looking at the man before her, the almost lost look in his white eyes she just waited patiently for him to speak

"My daughter… Hinata," he clarified the name but Tsunade had already guessed "how is she?"

"She's suffered no permanent damage, we kept her in hospital for a while to be sure… she's staying with one of her friends until all this is over"

"Thank you" Hiashi said no more as he began to sort through papers on his desk. Tsunade nodded correctly guessing that his quick activities on his desk were completely unnecessary, walking away from the compound she allowed a small smile to spread across her lips, at least once this was all over Hinata had a chance at a reconciliation with her father.

--

Appearing before the entire camp and knowing that he was under their intense scrutiny was enough to make anyone nervous and Naruto was no different. The rest of the team stood off to one side awaiting the study of Naruto to be over.

The entire camp had turned out for this, over seventy people stood staring, about sixty percent were blonde haired, over fifty percent were blue eyed, Ino was one of the few in the group that actually blended in. The tribe's leaders were seated directly in front of Naruto their eyes hard and curious.

"You are here with claims to be the Warrior Prince?" Naoki was an imposing figure and he glared at Naruto in a way that made him feel even more nervous, it was like standing in front of Tsunade or Jiraiya when they were seriously scolding him. It didn't help matters that this man was actually an uncle of his one of his closest family members in the village.

"I… I don't like the title" Naruto told them ignoring the way Kakashi and Shikamaru gave him an angry look that told him he was being and idiot "I'm not a warrior… I'm a shinobi and I'm not a prince, I'm just normal"

"You are the son of Minato Namizaki, he was Hokage was he not?"

"Yeah… how do you…?"

"We may be isolated from the world but we are not completely cut off" the leader of the tribe smiled as he spoke "When we heard your name and where you were from we knew whose child you were… there was only ever one male Namizaki at a time in Konoha. As I was saying, You are the son of Minato Namizaki, he was Hokage, that makes you a prince of sorts… does it not?"

"I guess"

"and as a shinobi you can be classed as a warrior… can you not?"

"That's true as well" he admitted reluctantly

"Then in terms of matching the criteria of a Warrior Prince then you are a Warrior Prince… you even have the look of past Warrior Princes however a name and a look is one thing…there are other things you must be in order to fully qualify."

"I will answer any questions you may have but I don't have a lot of time" once again his team showed that they thought he wasn't handling the situation very well "If I am not quick then the Chosen one is in danger."

"The chosen one has yet to be determined" one of the adults announced "Before we hand over our ultimate weapon we need to guarantee that we have the right people."

"The Chosen one isn't with us but…" Naruto turned to look at Ino "the same people that worked out who I am worked out who she is"

"Who was that?"

"Me" Ino spoke up raising her hand

"You speak out of turn" Naoki told her harshly, he gave her a shrewd glare but her very appearance made her slightly more trustworthy to him, she looked like a member of his own family.

"My friend is in danger," Shikamaru grabbed her arm trying to prevent her speaking further but Ino merely shrugged him off "I'll speak whenever I want to if it means helping her"

"How sure are you that these are the people we want"

"Trust me we have the right people" Ino spoke decisively walking forward with a picture of Hinata in her hand "If you know what the Warrior Prince needs to look like then I'm sure you know what the Chosen one must look like"

"Indeed" the leader nodded and took the photo from Ino's hand "she looks… very similar to the Chosen one" he gave Naruto an appraising look "Tell me what you know of her."

Naruto smiled softly as he spoke "Her name is Hinata, she's sweet, and kind, all she wants is for everyone to be happy and safe, she loves her sister and her father though he treats her like dirt, I love her, have done for a couple of years now, we're dating… but we haven't been together for long" Naruto sighed unhappily, if only he'd been smart enough to make a move earlier then he and Hinata would have had ages together before all this Warrior Prince and Chosen one nonsense started up, still they could have years ahead of them if he managed to defeat Orochimaru "Look, the bad guy is back, he has the chalice and I'm willing to bet he could get his hands on the axe soon" he was still fuming that Temari had insisted on getting the handle, now the whole thing was in Konoha "I want to save the girl I love and to do that I apparently need the shield… I think I need all of you as well, please come back to Konoha with us" he looked around at the very unsecure camp, none of them were really safe here the adults may be fighters but the small children, the babies… "All of you, it'd be safer there."

"You consider our lives important? We may be family but we do not know each other well." One of the female elders near to Naoki smiled "you could forget we even exist, you may never see us again, it wouldn't affect your life"

"Maybe not but I do think your in danger here and coming to Konoha could save lives. Orochimaru already massacred an entire village, the village of Karuki it had about a hundred people in it, if he discovers that we came here he may follow. Besides, you are warriors, the more people that come to fight Orochimaru the better off we'll be."

The older woman smiled and nodded to Naoki in a gesture of approval, Naoki nodded in agreement before pointing to a person standing behind Naruto "Only a true Warrior Prince would hold our lives so dear, only the Warrior Prince could speak with such truth and feeling, only the true Warrior Prince would admit that he needed help in this, and so" he pointed directing Naruto's attention behind him, the blond turned and gasped

Mayu stood there holding a large silver and blue disc so intricately designed that it didn't seem right that it was to be used in battle "We give you" Mayu told him with a smile "Your birthright."

Taking the shield from her Naruto held the solid metal in his arms testing the weight he then used a finger to cautiously trace the spiral design in the very centre, he grinned to himself. "It's amazing… and this will help me?"

"This is your destiny" the tribal leader told him with a smile "this shield is for you to protect those you hold dear and to rid the world of the Cruel Monarch" the man knelt before him and bowed "we are honoured to serve under the Warrior prince again!" around them the rest of the tribe dropped to their knees, the Konoha shinobi wit Naruto looked around in surprise.

"Whoah!" Naruto held up a hand feeling bashful, "look… lets not do anymore bowing… how about we all stand up…all of you" turning around to look at them all he gave the people still kneeling a pointed look and then smiled, when everyone was on their feet again. "Look, I don't really like the whole bowing thing… ok, lets all just act normal with each other."

"It was often said that the warrior prince learned humility as he battled" Mayu said with a knowing smile "It is because of this that he inspired such devotion from his armies."

"Well this is a case of the Warrior Prince wanting friends instead of blindly devoted soldiers"

"I see you are not the type of Warrior we have expected" Mayu frowned slightly "But you have not been raised with our ways, we are tools for you… I suppose it is not your fault, had you been brought up as a member of our tribe you would have been taught how to think and fight years ago."

"I teach myself how to think" Naruto told her frowning at the idea "Sure I had some ideals and such told to me by my teachers and the old man but I work out what's right and wrong and I've seen first hand the life of a tool. I don't want that for anyone."

"Not even if it means saving the one you are destined to love and all humanity from the evil monarch that would destroy their freedom?"

"No man or woman shall be my tool or weapon, the weapons I wield have nothing to lose when they are used, all that fight beside me in this will have free will. They can leave anytime."

"That's very simplistic" Mayu told him almost disapprovingly "After all, ninja's are tools of war"

"But they have chosen their fate"

"And if we choose to be tools? Surely that is out choice to make?" she teased quickly

"You've got me there" Naruto grinned disarmingly "Still" he turned to face them all "I myself have faced Orochimaru before, and I will face him again, with or without help in order to protect the one I love most of all. I have done nothing to inspire loyalty in you, I do not even consider myself part of your clan so none of you are under obligation to return to Konoha with me. Still I ask that you do, we go to fight soon, the force we face is unknown both in quantity and quality, an alliance between you noble warriors and my home shinobi's would be favourable for us all. Together we can being down Orochimaru and all he stand for. I will be heading back in two hours time, those of you that are willing to come to fight, may come, those that do not, come anyway, hide away, do not let yourselves be found for Orochimaru has already killed an entire village, men, women and children together." Naruto looked around hoping his nervousness wasn't showing through, instead he tried to remain strong and act as though being in command came naturally to him "Two hours, and all of you that wish to leave, be ready." His actions and tone seemed to gain him approval from the elders and the villagers alike as they all began to move around. Letting out a sigh of relief Naruto turned to face Kakashi he got a nod of approval and smiled bashfully… at least now he knew if he ever did become Hokage he'd get used to giving orders.

--

Looking over his four best guards Hiashi gave them a nod of approval "I have received a special request from the Hokage. You will watch the Hokage's office tonight, go to her she will give further instructions" Hiashi made the orders in a curt tone before dismissing them men with a wave of his hand.

The four bowed respectfully before their clan head and left as swiftly as they had come.

Picking at the desert that had been brought to him Hiashi frowned down at his desk. He never avoided paperwork but for some reason up until Tsunade's visit today he had procrastinated every single form on his desk, now he could actually focus on the days work so after eating his main course the Hyuga leader had seated himself at his desk and started his days work. He had been sitting in his office for three hours when exhaustion overtook him, he barely noticed the days fatigue creeping up on him, he didn't register the fact that he was more tired than he should have been, and he certainly didn't think that there was anything odd about it. It was the end of a long and boring day… leaning forward he allowed his head to rest on the table and soon he slept.

Standing around the Hokage's office the four Hyuga guards and all the Hyuga clan began to feel similarly tired, despite caffeine, soldier pills, long conversation, loud music, and even their desperate will and need to stay awake every Hyuga in the village bar one began to lean back into comfortable positions and slowly give in to the unnaturally strong tired feelings overwhelming their bodies and soon they all slept.

--

Three teams arrived outside Konoha's walls, it was just after midnight and the sky was pitch black, there were muffled almost silent conversations as last minute instructions were given and agreed to. Kabuto himself was at the head of one of the groups, they wound their way to the meet point. The only thing they had to worry about at this point was running into a patrol or sentry, whilst the others were looking around nervously awaiting being caught but as they came upon the watchtower no one raised the alarm, no one jumped out to arrest them and throw them into gaol. In fact at the watchtower a rope had been lowered.

They climbed one by one as swiftly as possible and at the tower discovered the guard fast asleep with a note attached to his chest.

Picking up the note Kabuto read it to himself "Nice work Jun" Kabuto muttered complimenting the sleeping man. He hadn't known how Jun was going to make this job so easy on him but now he could knew, not only that but this plan didn't implicate Jun at all, he would have the drug in his system the same as everyone else, he had eaten the food too. "All the Hyuga will be sleeping, you'll have no difficulty in retrieving the mark. You know where her room is, A team that's your job, B team you're keeping a watch here, don't let anyone know that this guard is asleep, if anyone comes up here take them out, if the alarm is raised contact us, team C with me. According to this we have one hour before the next check, so be back in fifty minutes. Alright, everybody go"

Running down the stairs all three team split up

Team A discovered that Kabuto was completely right, the Hyuga guards were sleeping. They moved through the house smoothly, the layout they had been given was exact, the guards were no issue, the only problem was that the mark wasn't there.

Panic spread through them, they branched out searching the entire compound. They found nothing, finally the team leader came to a decision.

"We have no time. All we can do is return to the meet point"

Team B had no problems, the tower's were checked on every three hours, they sat down keeping low and talking quietly until Team A returned

"Where is she?"

"Not here, long story, Kabuto's going to be pissed"

Surprisingly though when team C returned Kabuto was anything but pissed.

Team C made their way to the Hokage tower, they moved casually through the village wearing clothes that would make them seem like civilians. They used no technique or stealth movements until they had to slip into the tower, they crept through back ways that Kabuto knew from his previous visits to the village. They passed two sleeping Hyuga as they entered the Hokage's office and split up in the office and began to search.

Filing cabinets were opened and rifled through but Kabuto's attention was drawn to the desk. He could sense something, he could feel chakra.

Walking towards the desk he came closer to where he felt the source was, moving to the desk he discovered a sealed drawer, it was a complicated set of seals but the seals frequency meant that he could soon work out how to open the desk drawer.

Inside the drawer all he could find was a sealed scroll, again a different more complicated arrangement of seals were performed and the scroll opened showing a small sword. There was a strong Henge here… he frowned, he could actually feel the power of the fifth Hokage in the technique in front of him.

Dispelling the disguise he actually gasped at what was revealed

"The axe" Kabuto's glasses glinted in the half light as he ran his hand over the silver weapon. The only problem was another seal… Tsunade was being very careful, the seal placed onto it, it was holding back the axes true potential… it was a sannin level seal… Kabuto grinned, good thing they had a sannin on their side.

"Sir, we have not found any evidence that can help us" his right hand man came up behind him before Kabuto even realised he was in the moving towards him "What do we do?"

"It doesn't matter" Kabuto smiled picking up the weapon "Let us leave before the people at the tower worry."

At the tower panic and fear was slowly rising, they couldn't return without the Chosen one, the just couldn't. None of them spoke a word but they were fearful of Kabuto's return, the leader of team A was fidgeting slightly fear on his face.

"Ready to leave?" Kabuto's voice was surprisingly cheerful as she arrived at the tower

"Sir we do not have the Chosen one"

Kabuto faltered briefly but then shrugged "We leave now, before there is a chance to be caught."

"Sir if we…" the nin began to argue only to receive a cold glare from Kabuto, immediately he went silent and nodded obediently.

"Do not worry, now we have this it's only a matter of time before we get what we're after."

Together the three teams left the village descending the outer walls via their ascension rope, without further questioning they followed Kabuto as they began to make their way back to Orochimaru, they each individually hoped that Kabuto did know what he was doing, they were all in a lot of trouble if he didn't.

--

"Urgent message Huh?" Tsunade asked herself as she unsealed the communication she had just been woken up to receive "It had damn well better be considering I was woken up for it." Her gaze was cold as it rested on the messenger "You can go now" a polite bow was formed and the messenger left as swiftly as possible.

Smiling at the way she could terrify people Tsunade read the message from Naruto her eyes widening in surprise, walking towards her office she muttered the words a village full of Naruto's… despite knowing that they couldn't all be like her favourite blond the very words conjured up visions of hundreds of grinning prankster. She shivered.

There are some visions that make your craving for sakѐ all that much stronger… not that she ever needed more encouragement. Upon entering her office Tsunade made straight for her desk… her eyes widened.

"No, no, no, no ,no, no!"

Pulling at her hair in frustration she spun around cursing violently, there were Hyuga on guard for Gods sake, how could anyone get into her office?

"HYUGA!" Her yell was heard on the other side of the village but only one single Hyuga responded to her call, sitting up in bed Hinata's mind instinctively reacted to the scream that echoed through out the village.

Sitting up in bed Hinata Hyuga frowned, what had awoken her? She rubbed her eyes blearily, something was wrong, she could feel it. Climbing out of bed she made for Sakura's bedroom, the pink haired girl was sprawled half on the bed and half off in an amusing fashion, leaning down Hinata shook the other girls arm

"Whozzatt?" Sakura mumbled one eye opening "H'nata?"

"We need to go to Tsunade… something's up"

* * *

Ok about the azure orb of power, it was kind of a red herring to make you all think it would be the rasengan (if you really looked into it I wasn't sure anyone would really care that much), whilst Naruto does use the rasengan in battle it is the shield that protects him and could help him to win the battle. We'll find out more about the shield in the next chapter.

I know this story needs fixing and I will go through it and edit it when it's done but of course I will finish the story first, as I've said before I really do hate when people pause stuff so they can do re-writes. I won't make you guys suffer due to my own poor writing skills.

Thanks for reading.


	16. The Shield

To anyone that noticed, sorry, here's the real chapter.

For those that didn't get to the fic in time, I put up the last chapter again. Luckily I always double check my chapters so I caught it pretty quick!

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Travelling back to Konoha had seemed like it was to be an intense undertaking but in thinking that the shinobi were entirely wrong. The entire site was deconstructed and packed up in less than an hour, not one single person seemed to stand back as they worked. The smallest children were sent to one side with designated adults whilst everyone else got to work. It was the kind of order that you couldn't help but be impressed by, the Konoha nin stood off to one side feeling idle, every time they offered to help they were sent away and told that they'd just get in the way. Ino and Naruto were sitting with the kids, Ino was helping to look after the toddlers whilst Naruto was telling the older children rather exaggerated stories about his missions. It was odd that Naruto felt the need to exaggerate any of his stories, the real thing was almost as impressive, how many people create hundreds of versions of themselves the day they learn how to and then save their teacher from a traitor?

The journey was just as well organised, animals and people moved together incredibly well and making excellent time, most people walked but there were carts and wagons enough to carry those that couldn't.

At the front of the train Kakashi walked with the elders talking in low tones, he told them all he knew and in return for his honesty learnt all they knew. About halfway back Shikamaru walked beside Ino watching her as she made faces at the young kids on the back of the wagon they walked behind. Neji and Choji were at the end not saying anything as Neji was taking his job of watching the back of the train and Choji was concentrating on his crisp, and in the centre of it all Naruto walked alone, many people had made attempts to engage him in conversation but he was silent for once. His mind was preoccupied, ever since he had learned what he had to do and what he was to Hinata he had been plagued with fears and doubts but he had noticed something when he was handed the shield. He had marvelled at it's weight and splendour but it was the simplicity of the back and a small, tiny marking that made him feel ready.

It was something that Naruto doubted anyone else would ever notice, on the back of the where the handle joined the metal of the shield there was a small message carved onto it. He had traced the small words carefully, no doubt at some point the original warrior prince had felt uncertainty in himself, or maybe at the beginning he had made himself a pledge. Either way he had ensured that during battle the reason for being there would be close by, 'FOr HinAtA' was carefully, if a little untidily, scraped onto the back. It must have been the original he decided for no one had been able to make a mark on the shield since then. Much like the axe and chalice it was indestructible, it hadn't been marked since the last time the original Warrior Prince used it. The thought that like him the previous Warrior Prince's had been just as dedicated to their Chosen ones as he was to his, it gave him hope, it gave him a small amount of confidence. And maybe, maybe just like him they had felt unready, inferior, and inadequate.

"For Hinata" he agreed with a nod of his head, for Hinata he would train until he could defeat Orochimaru.

"Everything OK?" Mayu was at his side now smiling in a friendly manner

Shrugging the blonde shook his head "I'm just worried about Hinata, I should probably have stayed in town to keep an eye on her, some protector I am"

"I'm sure she's fine, you did say she was a ninja after all"

"Everyone has their limits but maybe… maybe as she is a shinobi she'll be able to survive this time. The other ones weren't fighters were they?"

"No but… I'm afraid that we can't guarantee anything, you're lucky, most of the other Naruto's never knew their status as Warrior Prince until Orochimaru made his move."

"Well I didn't know about it until he stole the cup"

"You're still doing better than the other ones and I have confidence in you, you're strong and your team have faith in you."

"Well I am pretty awesome" Naruto agreed with a grin "Thanks for cheering me up, the last thing I would have wanted was to seem miserable when I next saw Hinata."

-

Having heard that Naruto was back in the village Hinata made her way straight to the Hokage tower, with Sakura in tow. The pink haired girl had 'taken some days off' in order to 'spend time with her friend' Hinata felt like rolling her eyes at Sakura's excuse, she knew something had happened, something important but she knew she wasn't going to be told what it really was. Still at least with Sakura being her guard all day every day she didn't have to remain at home with Shino or Kiba popping around every now and then to 'check how she was' or 'if she was going anywhere'. Even her grandparents seemed to be in on this protective stance as they kept her close to home.

She travelled quickly muttering about stopping by the ramen stand and smiling when Sakura complained that Naruto should be happy just to see her. They avoided Ichiraku's in the end and headed straight for the Hokage's tower, they were just in time to see Naruto heading up the stairs but before Hinata could call out to him an elderly man placed himself in front of her stating. "You must be her"

A Hyuga upbringing and her own innate sense of politeness stopped Hinata from shrugging the man off "I beg your pardon?" Hinata smiled at the elderly man as politely as possible "Should I know you?"

"No, but I know you well" Naoki gave the shy young woman an inquisitive look

Having noticed that the group behind him had stopped Naruto turned back to see what had grabbed their attention "Hinata!" upon seeing his girlfriend Naruto ran back down the stairs and wrapped his arms around her

"Naruto!" Hinata flushed at his very public display of affection in front of so many people, smiling she just laid her head on his shoulder "I'm glad to see you too Naruto"

"You're OK?" his eyes flickered over her face in loving concern "They've kept an eye on you?"

"I'm fine… Naruto…" Hinata flushed darker as she looked around at the people watching them intently "who are all these people?" Hinata asked staring at the tribal members that had returned with Naruto, her gaze focussed primarily onto the elderly leader who had been stopped her before flitting to the dark haired girl watching the two of them closely.

"Oh they're just members of the warrior prince's tribe, they're going to be… helping me train." He finished, he's almost explained that they were staying partly for their own safety but it as far as he knew Hinata still knew nothing about the Karuki village's massacre. "This is Mayu, she's said to be the best."

"I see" Hinata nodded distractedly, she couldn't help the bubble of jealousy that rose up inside her as she looked at the pretty girl Naruto would be training with. "Any friends of Naruto's are friends of mine"

"We are tools for the Warrior Prince in his time of battle" Mayu told her seriously whilst bowing

"Man we've having this argument all the way home!" Naruto muttered angrily "I keep saying I don't want tools just… comrades and she keeps saying it is the same thing."

"It's like that in leaf" Hinata told Mayu hoping she didn't sound too condescending despite wanting to at the same time "we want people, to want to protect their home"

"But we want to be Naruto's tools we want to protect him"

"The problem with that" Hinata said speaking clearly "is that… tools are cold, emotionless, and they never think for themselves, I'll be damned if I ever serve with a shinobi that's like that."

"You make a good point" Mayu admitted with a slight bow "Some times it is better to have someone who will argue back when they believe a mistake will be made."

"See this is why I love her, she's just so smart!" Naruto placed a kiss on his blushing girlfriends cheek before pulling away saying "I better go see Tsunade before I get into trouble… I'll see you later" Naruto dropped a kiss onto Hinata's other cheek before running to lead the others to the office, only ten members of the village were going to be with him as he and the team made their report the rest had been taken to a training ground where they could set up their homes.

"Yeah, later" Hinata muttered unhappily, this was all getting to be too much, first her friends say they're too busy to talk to her, then she is told she can no longer be informed about the mission and finally her boyfriend runs off to train with a really hot girl. Any normal person would be annoyed by all this but add it onto their current situation and Hinata's regular insecurities, then you have a depressed girl ready to break. Shaking her head she decided to go and see the one person that she knew she could rely on, the one person that she knew could cheer her up. "Come on Sakura, lets go see Kurenai"

-

Sitting tensely behind her desk Tsunade clasped and unclasped her hands repeatedly. She knew that Naruto was back and was slowly working up the courage to face him, he had been left waiting outside her office for a full ten minutes now but at her request Shizune had informed him that he needed to wait.

The axe should have remained hidden Naruto had been right about that. But No! Tsunade's stupid pride had not allowed her to trust that anyone but her could hide the axe properly. The one thing that preyed on her mind was the fact that anyone had known where to find the axe. No one but herself and Temari had known that the axe was here, no one but herself Temari and Mai knew that the whole thing was up out of the ground and no one but herself and Hiashi had known about the increase of guards at her door… so why had someone drugged all the Hyuga. There had been three together on border patrol that night and they had not been found until next morning when everyone was put on high alert. Jun had been discovered asleep at his post but his superior had found nothing out of the ordinary at the tower, no signs of a break in.

Shaking her head Tsunade inhaled deeply and climbed to her feet "SHIZUNE!" immediately the door opened and her aide peered through the door.

"Yes Tsunade?"

"Send them in"

The head disappeared back into the other room, and Tsunade steeled herself for the anger and upset she was about to cause.

"You can go in now Naruto" Shizune smiled at the blonde as he stood up, he made for the door but Shizune stopped him placing one hand on his arm "Naruto… go easy on her" he gave her an odd look but nodded and then Naruto and his team trooped into the room followed by the main tribe leaders.

"Hey granny" Naruto teased with a wide smile "We got good news and we're all back safe… Kakashi'll be here soon."

"I see" Tsunade nodded surprising Naruto… why wasn't she having a go at him for calling her granny? "And who are these people with you Naruto?"

"This is Naoki and…" Naruto told her and then seeing her expression paused frowning severely "What's happened?" he asked curiously.

"You may have good news Naruto but… I have bad."

"What kind of bad news? Is anyone hurt?" His thoughts went straight to Hinata but he mentally reprimanded himself for his stupidity, he'd already seen her! She was fine.

"Naruto…" Tsunade took a deep breath "We had a break in, the axe is gone..."

"Well… that's alright, it was only the handle they can't do much damage with the handle can they?" she said nothing and Naruto felt a cold hand clutch his heart "It was just the handle wasn't it?"

"Whilst you were gone I decided that I ought to have the axe in my care, Temari and I took Mai to the top of the Hokage monument where she buried the blade and asked her to retrieve it. She did so, after I received the blade from her, I connected the two pieces and decided to place a guard on them." She could see him getting angry but she continued to speak despite it all "I used Hyuga guards, that in itself was no problem but… the night I did so every Hyuga in the village, bar one, was drugged and slept at their posts"

"So who was it? Who was the one that didn't get drugged, it must have been them!"

"Hinata was the only one not drugged, as far as I can tell from their blood samples an almost untraceable slow acting drug was slipped into their food to make them sleep, according to my maths they must all have been drugged at the evening meal where, traditionally, they all ate together. Hinata was at Sakura's and therefore didn't eat with them"

"So she was the one that wasn't drugged" Naruto closed his eyes anger welling up inside him, how could someone manage to do that, they were Hyuga for God's sake. Nothing got past their eyes.

"Yes"

"So the axe is gone?"

"I'm afraid that's true as well"

"And we have absolutely no leads?"

"None at all"

It was all Naruto said as he stood in front of his hokage… an angry outburst was on the tip of his tongue, a furious dressing down of Tsunade and all she had done wrong threatened to overspill but… "I'm sure you did all you could… now if you'll excuse us we have to train"

THAT'S IT?

Everyone that had travelled with him stared at Naruto in stunned silence, no temper tantrum? No tears? No name calling? All he had done was spoken presumptuously by telling her they needed to train. Everyone knew that Naruto and Tsunade got into worse fights over much more trivial things, most of them had seen the office after she and Naruto had been heard yelling at each other, they knew the damage that would normally be done. Why hadn't the boy jumped onto the old woman's desk and started yelling?

"You are excused"

WHAT?

Now the Konoha nin turned to look at Tsunade, no pleas in her part? No excuses? No long drawn out apologies? She'd just lost one of the single most important things they could have owned in this situation and she said nothing. Not only that but Naruto had actually been slightly rude with his command that he was going training… she was just going to let it go?

"Lets go guys" Naruto turned and walked out of the office, he didn't look back and give Tsunade a quick 'See you later granny' as he usually would he just walked away.

Collapsing back onto her chair Tsunade closed her eyes, he had looked so upset, so angry and yet he had said nothing. She knew what this meant, this was one of those things where forgiveness would be a long time coming. Her actions had really hurt him. Reaching into her desk drawer Tsunade pulled out a small bottle, she really needed this right now.

--

"Just look at it" Orochimaru whispered as he held up the axe for the people around him to see. Over two hundred men and women knelt before him looking up in complete awe at the weapon he held. "This is the key to our power" climbing up onto a box so he stood in clear view of everyone around him, out of the corner of his eye he could see Kabuto standing at the back of the crowd, the bespectacled man had his arms folded and a smug smirk on his face, Orochimaru's speech continued as he turned to look over his people "With this we shall rise up, together we shall make this world tremble"

As Orochimaru's speech continued Kabuto's smirk got wider, he cherished no illusions about this, Orochimaru never needed anyone, for a while his title as Oracle had kept him on his right hand but he didn't need him for much longer. Until Orochimaru had his unbeatable army he no longer needed the humans bowing around him. As soon as Orochimaru was in power every single person here was about as useful to him as a DVD without a DVD player.

But Kabuto knew he would be needed again, he had a way of making sure that Orochimaru would need him, even if it was just in the background, even if it meant keeping his head down and performing the most demeaning and menial tasks until he found a way of making himself indispensible again.

At the same time that Orochimaru had made further plans he had made his own plans. It was simple enough, just another way of keeping his head down, Orochimaru's plans were a little more ornate.

They were missing one key element to this whole thing, they needed one more piece to complete the puzzle. Tomorrow there would be an attack, they had information from Jun about the best place to make a scene. A location where they could distract the village enough and then slip in a smaller team unnoticed. Jun would make arrangements for Hinata to be at the Hyuga compound at the designated time and then all would be ready.

--

"Uugh, Argh" Naruto tried to fend off attack after attack as is teacher and sparring partners, every attack seemed to reverberate on the metal chipping away at his own energy. He couldn't understand how he could use this in a real battle situation. He knew that him in sage mode was more powerful than him using attacks and trying to hide behind this useless piece of metal. "STOP IT DAMN IT!!"

Hearing this Kakashi let up immediately and the warriors around him did so as well. They watched as Naruto flung the shield to the ground and screamed his rage to the heavens. As soon as he had finished yelling he began a tirade of expletives that could make even the most hardened of shinobi blush.

"Are you quite finished?" Kakashi asked as the blond boy completed this outburst and sat moodily down on the ground. In that state he suddenly looked very much like the twelve year old child Kakashi had first taken on as a genin.

"No" as a final measure just to make sure everyone knew how annoyed he was with the damn thing he turned to the blue shield and blew a raspberry at it. He heaved a massive sigh before turning to face Kakashi "Now I'm done" The frustration on Naruto's face was more than evident, it was contagious. His complete irritation with his current task was so great that it spread to everyone else around him.

"Lets take a break everyone" he spoke directly to Sakura "Take Mayu and the others to find something to eat"

"I should stay with the prince" Mayu argued but Sakura grabbed her arm and dragged her away with the rest of them "I should stay" Mayu argued again but Sakura shook her head

"No, not right now… Kakashi and Naruto need to talk, teacher and pupil together, Besides, Naruto can look after himself, he doesn't need you guys to be his personal bodyguards." So saying the sparring team walked off making for the nearest take out places they could find.

"Talk to me" Kakashi ordered, the blond turned to him with one eyebrow raised curiously.

"How's that going to help?"

"Explain to me what the issue is, tell me what's so wrong and maybe between us we can come up with a solution."

"It's just… It's just a shield, it's not a weapon, how's this supposed to help me?" Naruto ran his hands through his hair feeling angrier as time passed by "I mean, when they spoke of the orb of power I hoped it would be something more. This is no help, it's an obstruction, it just gets in the way of attacks I could use, it's exhausting me more than anything else. I figured there'd be some ancient magic or… some seal or… I don't know something, something to make it great. But it's just a useless lump of metal, it has no sealed powers, it has nothing that will help me. So… what's the solution?"

"I don't know" Kakashi told him a nervous look in his eyes "But we need to keep training with it, for some reason this shield was divined as a way to defeat Orochimaru, we need to use it to…" frowning Kakashi paused, something was not quite right… it wasn't that anything particular was wrong, but there was something, somewhere that meant him and his student harm. He could feel it in the air. "Come on Naruto, lets get back to training."

"Why…?" Naruto stopped noticing the way Kakashi was focussed on something "What is it Sensei?"

"I don't know…a feeling, lets call it a feeling." Kakashi stood staring up into the sky contemplating everything about it.

Standing With him Naruto closed his eyes, he could feel nothing out of the ordinary "A feeling of what?" he asked opening his eyes to watch his old teacher very carefully.

"Of danger, of death…. Something is coming Naruto and… I'm not sure we're ready for it yet."

--

"Is there anything more that you can tell us?" Tsunade asked Naoki, she had spent the last half hour questioning the man about his people and his practices but apparently record keeping wasn't one of their strong points.

"There is very little we can say, all the items involved are indestructible, the shield has a power that only Naruto can access, only the true Warrior Prince can ever unleash it's full potential. As for the rest of it… it is only after they have died that they will regain their memories of their past lives."

"What use is that?" Tsunade was confused

"Has Orochimaru died at all?"

"Why yes…." Tsunade frowned "he did, and it wasn't until after he was brought back after his death that he recognised the cult and started… So that's why he changed tack, instead of going all out against the village he began to be more devious about it."

"Some say… the first re incarnation was said to be a man that had cheated death, he was returned using dark magic. It is legend amongst our people that anyone who has seen death, stared it in the face and then returned… that person can often remember their past lives and mistakes."

"This doesn't help us now" Tsunade murmured "I need to know how Naruto can end this. Tell me… can he win?"

"You want me to tell you likelihood of Naruto's succeeding now that Orochimaru has everything but the chosen one?"

"Please"

"Normally it would be 50/50, Orochimaru has almost all of what he needs but so does Naruto. There is just one problem"

"What's that?"

"Orochimaru will kill thousands upon thousands in order to get what he wants, Naruto will try to save everyone, he has a 10% chance of winning."

"So low" Tsunade whispered leaning back against her chair "I thought maybe…"

"you thought he had a better chance? Hokage sama, from the moment Orochimaru began to put all this together Naruto's chances have grown less and less. Had he been brought up in our clan…"

"Had that happened you would not have known where the Chosen one was." Tsunade reminded him "do not blame the Namikaze's for leaving you, instead blame me had I left the axe where it was hidden then he'd have higher chances."

"We all make mistakes."

"I know, but mine will have a greater cost than most."

* * *

Quick rant

*Possible Spoilers(it depends how far you've gotten in the Manga)*

This chapter was really tough to write… I'm just not getting a lot of inspiration and rereading the Manga doesn't help. I think it's because I'm still waiting to see what's going to happen between Naruto and Hinata, every time a new chapter comes out it's all about bloody Sasuke, and it's really annoying me, sure I want Danzo dead but I want more Naruto in the manga. It's called Naruto for flips sake!! And what the hell is it with Sasuke's outfit? He just looks ridiculous, and all these different Sharingan powers are boring me. Just stab each other and die already! And the spectators? Do we need a running commentary? We basically had the entire last chapter retold in this chapter, but it looks like Karin might be on the way out so I'm not too unhappy... do any of the people wearing glasses live long in this?

Thank you for reading, sorry about the rant

Please R&R


	17. The axe and the chosen one

I apologise again for the mistake last time around, apparently it takes up to half an hour for the changes to go through so it would have been wrong for a while. I also would like to warn you that this chapter gets a little citrusy near the end.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

His body aching Naruto sighed as he relaxed on his couch, the aroma of delicious food filled his apartment as Hinata stood in his kitchen making dinner. He had spent all day training and with practically no improvement and it was disheartening to say the least. The whole thing wouldn't stop playing on his mind and as much as he'd like to unwind and enjoy his time with his girlfriend he just couldn't seem to stop worrying. Shifting uncomfortably he let out another sigh, there was more to think about right now.

"Are you still not feeling better?" Hinata asked as she exited his kitchen carrying two plates of food, as she came in Naruto sat up and smiled.

"I'm alright… still sore but it's not just that. Thanks" he took his meal from her and began to eat

"Are… are you allowed to tell me what else is bothering you?" Hinata asked nervously as she perched on the couch next to him

"Yeah it's nothing to do with the mission it's just" he paused raising his fork of food to his open mouth chewing and swallowing before continuing "This is really good…. It's just that I've been alone so long Hinata…, I could have done with some family growing up, why didn't my grandfather or father let someone know I was on the way, I mean ok my parents died when I was born but… I had a whole nine months before that."

The sat in silence for a little while both eating and thinking until finally Hinata began to speak "Naruto… Think about the tribal members you brought here. What is the difference between you and them?"

Frowning Naruto tried to think about what she could mean "Are we going for one big and obvious difference or lots of little almost unnoticeable ones?"

"You are Naruto, they are Naruto."

"It's weird being the one doing the correcting for once but Hinata that isn't a difference, that's a similarity!" Hinata laughed at Naruto's cheeky smile.

"But why were you called Naruto? Because your parents saw, heard, and liked the name! All those men there are called Naruto because it might have been their destiny to be the warrior prince, and it's the same with all the girls. I've spoken with some of them… they were kinda creepy at first… According to one of the people there, the naming thing started up because people were afraid to name their child Naruto or Hinata, several generations went by where they refused to name their children those names because of what it could mean for them, the rule that they were all to be called that was merely to make sure no child was singled out. I think your grandfather wanted you and your father to grow up away from all that."

"That does kind of make sense"

"I know it's hard but" Hinata smiled relaxing back into the cushions "Naruto… take it from someone who has grown up as part of a clan, and who has always known what was expected of her, and always seemed like a failure. He did a good thing, besides, if you had gone to live with your family after your father died you and I may never have met until it was too late. In fact… I probably wouldn't be here, the fox could have killed everyone in this village."

"And I might have turned out like Neji, all that fate or destiny rubbish!"

Hinata sighed miserably "I don't know if it is rubbish, I mean we are destined to be a part of all this."

"Yes but the way we end it is up to us, we are destined to be the warrior prince and chosen one but how we deal with it is all about our choices."

"And we fell in love with no other expectations than to love each other"

"Eternal and unrivalled love" Naruto agreed shifting closer to Hinata on the couch and leaning against her, he then took it a step further and wrapped an arm around her.

"What?" Hinata asked unable to stop a slight flush form, covering her cheeks as she snuggled into his embrace

"Mayu and I were talking with one of the trainers, I asked him some questions and one of the things he said about us was that we had an eternal and unrivalled love. Even if one of us dies the love will remain."

"I wouldn't want you to spend your life alone Naruto" Hinata protested moving to look at him "If something happens to me you don't have to…"

"We're not going to talk about this Hinata" Naruto told her feeding her some salad from his plate "Neither of us are going to die, we're going to be together and we're going to make it through this together. Ok?"

Still chewing the abnormally large mouthful he had forced on her Hinata nodded saying a muffled "ok" in agreement. She just wished she believed it.

After a calming evening and a long night's sleep Naruto felt more ready to face his training. Hinata was always so good for him, she encouraged him when he felt low and made him feel ready for anything. His whole morning seemed better, Hinata had left breakfast for him, seriously, if he needed more evidence that Hinata would make an amazing wife there it was, and the apartment (despite seeming more lonely then before) was definitely cleaner. He finished his delicious breakfast and dumped the plate into the sink, he had just finished dressing when a knock sounded at his door. Looking at the clock he was surprised, it was early yet and no one expected him to arrive at the training grounds for another hour.

"Naruto?" the person at the door knocked again and Naruto grinned happy to hear the soft voice he practically raced to the door to let his girlfriend in. He welcomed her in happily but her expression made him concerned

"What's wrong?"

"I've had a message from my father, he's asked me to go to the compound today to speak with him."

"No way are you going there"

Hinata shook her head, she had known he would react like this "I know the situation between us isn't good but he is still my father and I need to respect him."

"Yeah he's still your father… look at what he did to you" Naruto reached up a hand and placed it on her cheek his eyes fixed on her forehead "And anyway…why are you here alone?" Why isn't Sakura with you? You need someone to be with you all the time"

"You mean like the three ANBU that dog my every move?"

"I don't know what you mean" Naruto smirked amusedly, it was hard for any ANBU to trail a good ninja without being spotted but for them to follow a person with Byakugan it was well nigh impossible.

"Maybe you don't but you shouldn't be surprised by all them being there. What kind of a ninja are you if you didn't notice them?"

"True enough, look Hinata, Let me come with you to see your father"

"I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't hoping you'd say that when I came here. I do not fear my father but…. I have more confidence when you are around" she blushed lightly as she admitted this but she saw no reason to hide the facts from him.

"Then I will definitely come" Naruto agreed with a smile, as selfish as it sounded to him he liked that she needed him it made him feel… well… needed! He contemplated leaving the heavy shield at home but with a shake of his head realised that he would need to come back for it later if he didn't take it now and carrying the extra weight around would be good training, he needed to get used to it's weight.

The two of them made their way around to the Hyuga compound very quickly. Naruto's face was grim and determined whilst Hinata was filled with nervous enthusiasm. She had a slight suspicion as to why her father had called her but whatever happened between them today would tell her how angry her father really was about what had happened between them.

Holding hands they entered the grounds and were welcomed by two Hyuga guards. They took her directly to her fathers study where they were welcomed by the clan head.

Unable to control himself Hiashi stared angrily down at the young couple in front of him, he was still not happy about their closeness but it was now painfully obvious that anything he tried would result in problems. The look on Hinata's face told him he could do nothing about their relationship, there was a certain quiet determination that made her seem suddenly different from the timid child he had known. When she had argued with him back in Tsunade's office he had been shocked, she had always been the one that he could control, he couldn't control her attitude but when he had told her what to do she had obeyed. His actions in Tsunade's office shamed him, he had lashed out in away he had promised himself he never would, it was just like any parent that had been pushed to the edge by a naughty child only instead of a slap or yelling he had…

He tried not to think too much about it.

"Hinata I asked you here today because of the event that happened a few nights ago. No doubt you have heard of what happened here."

"I was informed of the drugging" Hinata agreed easily, this was what she had suspected the invitation was about "I had blood taken and tested like everyone else."

"You were the only Hyuga unaffected"

"I know"

"You do not think this was strange?"

"I was not present at the meal"

"And yet you were in kitchens that day speaking with the chef"

"I was informing them that I would not be at the meal, it was out of common courtesy, that is all" Naruto looked to the side and watched Hinata for a moment, she stood tall her back straight her face calm. Her hand was clasping his extraordinarily tightly but she did not show her nervousness to her father. She would not back down and he was so proud of her.

"I do not suspect you. I am however mounting a full investigation into this. Jun informs me that you spoke to him in the kitchens so I have to ask you if you saw anything suspicious." Hiashi was not surprised by Hinata feeling insulted, the questions he asked. Jun had been the one to insist on her being questioned. He had made a big deal saying that she had been there for a while and insisted on bringing her in today to ask her about it.

"Jun spoke?" Hinata asked frowning nervously, it had been years since Jun had spoken to a main house member "To you?"

"He did, he recognises what a serious matter this is, he slept whilst on guard duty, anything could have happened to him and he knows it. Anything could have happened to us, we are lucky that nothing happened"

"I saw nothing out of the ordinary father, I was in there for about fifteen minutes, I tried to speak with Jun and then…" Hinata paused frowning, the drug that had been used was in no way dangerous, could one of the cooks or… any Hyuga have crept into the kitchen and added something to the food be it whilst that meal was being cooked or even days before hand, something could have been added to one of the pots of spices weeks ago.

"and then?" Hiashi urged watching Hinata's face twist in confusion.

"I was just thinking…." She was cut off as an explosion echoed through the village and made the whole house shake. Everyone looked around nervously grabbing hold of their weapons and looking around in readiness.

"It came from the civilian shopping district, it's market day" Hiashi said the veins around his eyes straining powerfully

"Oh god it's awful, there are so many people. We have to go there" Hinata spoke quickly her own eyes straining to see what was going on

"No **we** don't" Naruto told her "not you, you need to stay out of the way"

"Why?" Hiashi asked surprised "and why are there ANBU on my roof?"

"Hinata needs to be protected right now" Naruto told him "I can't tell you more but we need to keep her protected, her life is in danger."

"We can leave her here" Hiashi informed him "I'll send in guards and then I'm heading out there" Hiashi left the room in a swirl of robes.

"Naruto an attack upon civilians calls for all active shinobi to…"

"You're not active at the moment, Tsunade took you off the roster completely"

"I may not be active but I am able… I can't just stay here knowing that people are in danger"

"Please Hinata, I'm begging you. Stay here" Naruto commanded giving Hinata a stern look "As it is the ANBU have almost all gone, there's only one left as far as I can tell"

"The other two left soon after the explosion, Naruto it's getting worse down there" thanks to her bloodline limit Hinata could still see what was happening

"I don't want to leave you"

"I'll look after her" one of the Hyuga guards had entered the room and stood at the doorway "Hiashi left orders telling me to do so." The guard looked directly at Naruto as he spoke and barely seemed aware of Hinata's presence.

"Jun!" Hinata argued angrily "I can look after myself"

"Good" Naruto responded to Jun ignoring Hinata's comment "Make sure she doesn't leave here and keep her out of sight." Looking back at Hinata he said "You stay away from windows keep your head down" Naruto kissed Hinata forcefully before turning and running to the door.

"Stay safe" Hinata whispered quietly as he left.

In the midst of the fight Naruto was surprised at how many people were part of the attack. He had to wonder how so many people had managed to get in to assault his home, there were guards at the gate, how had so many people got in? No doubt they had used the cover of the market. He could see fellow ninja fighting and was shocked that the whole thing was going so badly. He soon saw that the reason things were so difficult was because the enemy had no problem with hurting civilians but he and his comrades needed to protect them, clearing away locals and trying to get them to a safe place only for that safe location to suddenly become dangerous and for them to have to move them further away.

The whole thing was a shambles "Look out!" the scream brought Naruto's attention back to the battle at hand, jumping in front of a shop owner who was still in the midst of the struggle he was just in time to raise his shield above him as a katana thundered towards him. To his shock and amazement the attack hit the shield but instead of cutting right through the metal as it would on an ordinary shield, Naruto felt a surge of power filling his body, he could actually feel the killing intent being rejected by the shield, his own strength was now being used, placing both hands onto the handle at the back Naruto screamed a war cry and the energy flew back towards his opponent.

His attacker received the full brunt of his own attack and was sent flying through the air and crashed onto a nearby roof, Naruto paused and looked down at his shield amazed. "What the hell…?" A pain filled shout drew his attention back to the battle and he turned just in time to see a new set of nins begin to attack, they were Suna he could tell from their dress obviously Gaara hadn't been abler to keep track of all the cult members as he'd hoped to, running forward Naruto raised his shield above his head and waited for the surge of power… this was why it hadn't worked before, there had been no real killing intent, this was what his secret weapon needed, real battle, real pain, and real plans to kill on both sides.

He ran through the crowds of fighting shinobi but, all the enemy were doing was fighting. They weren't headed towards a certain direction, they weren't trying to gain ground they were just fighting for the sake of fighting, this confused him until a thought suddenly hit him… "Hinata" that was why they were here, this attack was a distraction, there was nothing else it could be.

He needed to share this information, he needed to get out of the fight and get back to his girlfriend. Finally he caught sight of Neji whirling through the fight, leaping over a downed enemy Naruto began to sprint towards the Hyuga genius.

"Neji!" he yelled causing the Hyuga to finish his attack and start running towards him

"Naruto?"

"They've got to be here for Hinata, they have everything else, why are they attacking us this way if not to distract us and then get to her?"

"Do you know where she is?"

"I took her back to the Hyuga compound, she's there with… I think his name is Jun" Naruto told him remembering Hinata saying the name

"Jun?" stunned Neji was distracted long enough to allow his opponent slash his arm "Damn it" his eyes went wide as the man in front of him readied another attack but before he could do anything his opponent was showered with a full compliment of kunai thrown with such precision that there was only one person it could be "TenTen"

"You OK Neji?"

"Yeah…, listen Naruto!" The blonde turned back to him keeping his shield against his back.

"What?"

"I… Damn it all… TenTen, 130!" The brunette spun swiftly throwing kunai as she went. "Look Jun's not entirely trustworthy, I don't see any reason not to but I don't trust him. We need to… over there!" Neji pointed towards a shop where three children crouched behind a counter.

"I've got em" Naruto said quickly "Watch my back!" he'd head back to Hinata as soon as he could.

Throwing Kunai into the battle and making sure Naruto made it safely TenTen saw out the corner of her eye a signature pair of white eyes and then long flowing black hair as the Hyuga ran from the battle "Be safe" she whispered before turning her full attention back to the fight.

Jun stood in the room with Hinata, he looked out the window his eyes straining to see where the attack was happening. He hadn't realised that it would be quite so… brutal

"What's going on?" Hinata enquired keeping away from the windows as she had been told to, Jun was silent so Hinata decided to ignore orders and run forward, she pushed past Jun and stared out and across the village. "I should be back there, Naruto's my official protector, I should stay with him even if it meant heading into a fight"

"Then why did you allow Naruto to leave you with me?" Jun's voice was cold and hard as he questioned her, watching Hinata carefully he smirked cruelly, she seemed to start at the sound of his voice "You know that you have no reason to trust me"

"I have very few reasons to trust anyone" Hinata replied, a cold hand clenched her heart as she heard Jun's voice, there was something about the way he was speaking that scared her, he never spoke to her anyway and the tone he used now made her shiver "Is there a reason why I shouldn't trust you?"

"I would do anything to harm the main family"

Deciding that now was not the time to get into her status as a branch member Hinata merely said "Really?" she frowned as she realised that her thinking from before suddenly made sense, he had been in the kitchen that day, Jun could have easily added the drug to the food and eaten it knowing what affect it would eventually have. He would have known that he was on watch tower duty and he would have been able to arrange for someone to use his tower as a way to break in "would you be including handing me over to Orochimaru in that anything you mentioned"

"Why not?"

"Because that will not harm the main family, it will harm the entire world"

"What's wrong with that, the whole world is a mess, maybe he will sort some of that out."

"I very much doubt it, you hate the way the branch family are subjugated, he will merely continue that."

Despite knowing that there was some truth to what she said Jun shook his head "What could I really do? I've gone too far now, I can't back out"

"How far have you gone?"

"They are coming here today… that fight in town… I recommended it as an ideal distraction."

"I kind of guessed as much, you have a few choices though, first, you can go through with whatever you were planning to do with me, second, you can turn yourself in, and finally you can end it all now"

"How?"

"See that attack down there, you and I both know that it's all about me, if I were dead…" Hinata gasped back a sob "if I were dead it would all end… will you do that for me?" there was a long pause "Can you do that for me? Ca you make sure that none of those people out there will get harmed?"

Jun was shocked, this wasn't right, this wasn't how a Hyuga should be, she shouldn't value the life of the lower classes so highly, he had always been told that Hinata was different but… maybe she was lying… no she wasn't lying. The Byakugan was never fooled on things like this and right now he could tell that she was saying the absolute truth "I…" Jun dropped his Kunai and sank to his knees "I could have done, had you no sounded so noble I could have done, I was going to send you to a much worse fate"

"But you can't now?" she asked her breathing quickening

"I cannot, I despise you for your birth but… your character is too good. Why couldn't you make it so that I could hate you?"

Smiling a little at his comment Hinata moved closer "Jun I understand why you feel this way" kneeling in front of him Hinata lifted her hands and removed the hitae ate placed there "I forgive you because I have known the anger, I have felt the pain" Jun lifted one hand as though to touch Hinata's seal but dropped it quickly "I have even had my father use it against me"

"It was because of this" he muttered indicating his own caged bird seal "That I would have turned you over, now you tell me that you are one of the branch house too?"

"yes"

Jun stared at her for a little longer before a sudden realisation struck him, jumping to his feet and pulling her up as well he told her "We have to go it's not safe…"

"I should have known that we couldn't trust you" Both Jun and Hinata gasped as they turned to face the speaker

"Kabuto" Hinata gasped fear filling her body, she could remember the last time she had seen this man, he had looked so strange, he had been half dead. Staring at him now fear filled her heart, looking up she was going to call out for the ANBU guard she thought was in the roof when he was suddenly thrown into the room by one of Kabuto's henchmen. The white mask was thrown from his face and blood spilled from his body making Hinata look away, she was not squeamish but the fact that she hadn't even noticed her guard was in trouble angered her. What kind of a Hyuga was she to miss something so easy to see.

"Well hello again Hinata" Kabuto's eyes narrowed and he licked his lips as he looked at her "it's nice to see you again"

"I'd say the same but I'm a rotten liar" Hinata snapped back

"And to think I saved your life once" Kabuto grinned "You owe me really"

"You only saved it in order to kill me now, not exactly a kindness on your part. And how many people have you killed in order to get to me?"

"Well, a couple of guards on the walls, him" he indicated the ANBU "The Karuki village… not too many really"

"A village?" Hinata asked her breathing suddenly shallow her hands began to shake as she processed this information.

Seeing that she was beginning to lose control of the situation Jun grabbed her arm "Hinata" the Hyuga guard pulled out a kunai and moved her to standbehind him. This snapped Hinata back to the present.

"Yes Jun?"

"GO, NOW!" And before more could be said the Hyuga sped forwards.

Not wanting to leave him alone but knowing that she needed to move to a safer place Hinata ran, she leapt through the window she had been staring out of before and raced across the courtyard, she had almost reached the gates of the Hyuga estates when a body collided with hers knocking her to the side

She cried out in pain as her body hit the compact ground, pushing her attacker away she managed to leap to her feet. She pulled out a kunai and stood ready.

Three men stood around her but she could easily tell that two were not professional shinobi, they had had some training but their pathways were not very defined. She could either focus on the worst on first and then take down the other two afterwards or rid herself of the minor annoyances and then focus on the main problem.

In the end the course of action was decided for her as one of the amateurs ran at her attacking in a foolish way that made it obvious he had never fought a Hyuga. Spinning quickly and moving her arms gracefully Hinata sent the man flying and then followed knocking him out with a simple hit. The second amateur had attacked mere seconds afterwards and received a couple of blows but throwing Kunai in a wild manner he managed to cut her arm. She disposed of him quickly kicking hard and sending him crashing into and then through a nearby wall. Not even sweating Hinata turned to face her last opponent, she dodged as he immediately kicked out, his first foot missed by a hair and his second actually made contact with her gut. Cursing the young Hyuga was thrown but not far, he had managed to get that hit in whilst she was off balance she was determined it wouldn't happen again… why did everything seem to spin so much?

"Feeling dizzy?" her opponent asked with a grin

"What did you do?" she asked her mind clearing, she dropped ready for attack again but he stopped and smiled

"I didn't do this, my little friends did so" she must have shown her surprise "you see their blades were coated with a little concoction of mine, it's a handy little drug, it makes the infected unable to use chakra properly, every time they do the strain on their mind will not allow them to use chakra again for a few moments" Hinata's hand went to her arm, she glared at him feeling dismayed. "You will come with me now" he lunged forward grabbing at her arm but Hinata leapt back performing a cartwheel that took her to the other side of the courtyard. Once there she stopped, her head was spinning again and instead of standing ready for an attack she felt to the ground.

"You see" he was so smug it made Hinata angry, of course he had every right to be smug, he had probably instructed his men how to act and their only purpose of being there was to drug her. "Now do stop trying to fight it"

"I'll die before I come with you, I will make you kill me and then all this will be useless"

"Not really" another voice intruded on them and Hinata was shocked to see Kabuto standing close by. The blood on his clothes answered any question she might have had about Jun's condition. "Because we have what we need." Reaching behind him Kabuto pulled out an axe made of silver that Hinata had never seen before but it didn't take her long to guess what it was

"The axe of purgeance" she whispered fearfully

"Orochimaru doesn't have to kill you himself, it just has to be under his command, just think of me as an official executioner" with that Kabuto lifted up the weapon and swung it down.

White Hyuga eyes widened in pain as the axe sliced into the Hyuga's body.

"FATHER!" Hinata was stunned as the man that had jumped between herself and her death smiled gently at her. His back to his enemy, his body torn and damaged, it was all he could do to mouth the words.

"Run my child" then spinning to face both men Hiashi began a last ultimate attack.

Climbing to her feet Hinata turned and began to run, she ran out of the Hyuga compound heading towards the main battle in the village, she needed Naruto. Her chakra was unusable right now but she had often spent time running without using chakra and she was pretty fast on her feet. She arrived on the edge of the fight just in time to see Naruto depositing some children out of the way and telling them where to go

"Naruto!"

"Hinata!" surprised to see her Naruto wound an arm around his loves waist "You shouldn't be here"

"They found me, they were looking for me, father, Jun, they're both dead"

"I see… watch out" Naruto made a grunting noise as the two of them leapt back from an attack "I have to get you somewhere safe"

"There is nowhere safe right now… look out!" Hinata's scream came just in time as Naruto spun to face his attacker, raising his shield he held it above him and it took the full force of the blow… but this time instead of just sending the other man flying backwards into the ether the whole area around Naruto and Hinata seemed to become distorted, they stared at each other surprised but shouts from them both stopped any wondering as three people came steaming towards them. This time Naruto pulled Hinata against his chest, placed the shield in front of her and left his back open to attack, they felt all three strikes but nothing happened, all three men, even the ones with a chance at hitting Naruto were sent flying and the air seemed to sparkle a sky blue, it was like a mist but, tangible.

"Of course… it's called an orb of power, not a disc" Hinata muttered looking at Naruto "It's flat but creates a spherical field around us that protects us."

"But only when we're together" Naruto nodded understanding in his eyes as the two of them stood talking totally ignoring kunai after kunai the was hurtling towards them. Each weapon that shot their way flew back to it's owner usually causing some degree of harm. "All this time I've been trying to protect you and I need you to protect me as much as you need me to protect you."

As Kunai and swords rained down on them the orb began to grow, the blue power started to increase covering the area around them, it seemed to be able to tell who were enemy and who wasn't as the assailants began to drop like flies and the defenders just watched amazed.

"Naruto" Hinata whispered fearfully as the blue continued to spread "Are you alright"

"I feel very weak" he told her uneasily "this is taking a hell of a lot out of me… how the other guys did it without a fox demon giving them more power I'll never know."

"Hold on" Hinata looked around, those that weren't already enveloped in the blue mist were running, the people on their side secured the enemy with ropes of whatever came to hand. The moment Hinata felt that it was safe to she cried out "Stop it now Naruto"

Immediately Naruto dropped to his knees and allowed the shield to fall. He fell to one side and Hinata caught him lying his head down on her lap and running her hands through his hair.

"Are you alright?" she asked apprehensively "Naruto? Tell me you're alright"

"Come closer Hinata" he whispered, replacing her own knees with a jacket Hinata moved so that she leant over him

"What is it Naruto?"

"Closer" he whispered it even quieter this time

"Yes Naruto" she moved her head so that it was right in front of his "What is…" Naruto suddenly grabbed her head and pressed her lips to his, he pulled her so roughly that she actually fell on top of him making a small yelp of protestation as she did so. When he finally let her go she remained leaning on him "Naruto, you really worried me there" she punched his arm lightly

"Sorry Hinata" he grinned "but if it makes you feel better I really can't get up right now, my body's completely drained"

"Ahem…"

"Well if you can't get up Naruto perhaps you would not drag my cousin down with you"

Naruto and Hinata looked up to find an amused Neji and TenTen looking down on them

"Just cause you don't have the guts to do this with TenTen" Naruto teased before pulling Hinata down into an embrace "Besides I'm her official body guard, I feel a need to protect her entire body" he turned his attention onto Hinata and smiled "it's a very precious body after all!"

The hospital was full again, Tsunade could barely believe how many people had been hurt during all this but luckily most of the wounds were superficial and could be dealt with by even the most inexperienced of her med nins. Others had not fared so well. Two Hyuga, one the clan head and another a guard currently lay in the morgue. The death of Hiashi Hyuga had come as a shock to everyone, Hanabi Hyuga was the worst affected as she discovered that by his death she was now running the Hyuga clan. Immediately the Hyuga council had announced her to young and taken over and named one of Tsunade's worst enemies her main advisor. Tsunade knew that bad times were coming, the Hyuga were going to be insufferable, the Konoha council were going to need to be told everything and they would not be happy that she had kept all this from them.

Other than Hiashi and Jun only two others had been killed, a civilian woman had been hurt when the attack first begun and had been subjected to exploding tags, a young genin lay in the same room as the other three dead. He been shopping with his mother and younger sister and had acted immediately to the threat saving several lives before his own was taken.

Only four people, but each death created big problems for her to say nothing of the pain she had felt as she closed the young boys eyes. Only just thirteen, he had never even had time to think about the chunin exams

"Do you have a moment?" the gentle voice cut through the silence in the office very smoothly

"Of course Hinata, no doubt you have many questions"

"I have just two…The Karuki village" Hinata said the words quietly "Kabuto spoke of destroying it… how many people lived there?"

Tsunade sighed staring down at her desk

"They had an estimated population of about 130 people"

"And they killed them all? Just to get power?"

"Yes"

Hinata shivered, these people truly were monsters "How many people died in the attack on Konoha?" Hinata asked staring out of the window

"At least four, three shinobi" Tsunade told her "we're not sure on the numbers yet but it's not likely to be many more, your father and cousin Jun are two of those."

"Four?" Hinata gasped in surprise "four people died because you are protecting me?" it seemed so wrong to her, four lives, all to save one person.

"This isn't about just protecting you, it's about this village, the people within it, the lives of those in other villages" Tsunade shook her head "if you are taken by them and the legend is true then… we will all die!"

"Of course" Hinata nodded as though only just remembering what she was being told "those people died for the protection of us all. Is… Is Naruto out of hospital yet?"

"Ages ago, that fox is good for him sometimes"

"I think I'll go find him"

"Good idea… and no blaming yourself for this" Tsunade gave her a half hearted smile as she spoke "This is not your fault."

"I won't" Hinata lied easily, after all Tsunade would never be able to tell if she was lying, she hadn't got those Hyuga eyes.

"Good girl." Tsunade smiled indulgently on the Hyuga as she walked out of the room, she was a sweet girl, Naruto really loved her, and she was continuously respectful towards Tsunade despite having found her drunk on many occasions.

Walking away Hinata frowned to herself, Tsunade was wrong, much as she respected the hokage she knew that she was wrong. The only reason why those one hundred and thirty four people had died was because Orochimaru was after her. If she wasn't around any more Orochimaru would leave the village alone, but she couldn't run. She had too many enemies out there, her eyes may be sealed but as her father had once said, there were other ways to get the Byakugan from a female Hyuga. And orochimaru would probably know the second she left the village.

No she couldn't run.

There was only one other way to remove herself from this equation… she had spoken of it to Jun.

"Hinata!" the joyous sound of Naruto behind her made her heart suddenly clench, turning she smiled lovingly at him before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.

"Wow!" Naruto grinned at her when the kiss finished "I have to end up in hospital more often if this is how you greet me afterwards."

The way he talked so easily about the future pained her but she said nothing just embracing him as he ran his hands through her hair.

"Is everything ok?" Naruto asked nervously his eyes flickering across her face in a worried way "You seem upset"

"I was just worried about you" she lied her smile only half of what it usually was "Come on, I'll… I'll treat you to Ramen"

After a fulfilling meal of ramen Hinata took Naruto's hand in hers as they walked along the road, he tried to start up a conversation with her but she had remained monosyllabic all the way, for some reason she didn't want to talk to him. Normally this would have worried Naruto but he knew that with everything that was going on it was understandable that she'd want quiet to think.

He stayed beside her until he reached the apartment complex and then he stopped to embrace her and kiss her goodbye, oddly enough Hinata didn't allow him to do it, she ducked away from his kiss and maintained a firm grip on his hand leading him towards the stairs and dragging him up them. At first Naruto was surprised, asides from anything else Sakura wouldn't want him in her apartment but he followed his girlfriend hoping that when they got somewhere private she'd finally talk to him. He watched her unlock the front door and followed her inside wondering what Sakura's apartment was going to look like, it was oddly boring inside. The walls were a sort of beige colour and the floor was scattered with training equipment and medical journals, she had very few pictures on her walls but he recognised himself in some and Sasuke in many.

Hinata didn't actually give him much time to look at the living room, she continued to pull him through the flat until they reached her bedroom, once there she sat him on the bed and sat beside him.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked after a lengthy silence

"Four people died today, all because you are protecting me"

"Those people died fighting Orochimaru's minions" Naruto corrected "it's not your fault" he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close "Don't blame yourself."

"My father" Hinata muttered tearfully, "he took the hit for me"

"Because he loved you, you know that… right?"

"I do, I do know but…" she paused, how could she make Naruto see how culpable she was, how could she tell him how she felt about all this, how could she tell him what she planned to do. "I still feel bad" She couldn't tell him, if she told him he'd do everything in his power to stop her

"That's because you want to help protect everyone" he informed her with a smile "It's one of the things I love about you"

The usual blush stained her face, sitting beside him Hinata wondered briefly if she would have ever grown out of it if she was given the chance "I love you too" she whispered nervously "You make me happy"

Naruto chuckled pressing a kiss on her head "You get some sleep and I'll pick you up tomorrow and I'll take you some place fun to make sure you stay happy all day." He stood to go but she maintained her grip on his wrist "I'm going to need my hand back" he joked

"Stay" she begged nervously keeping her eyes on the wrist she held

Above her Naruto paled, the implication was obvious and if he was honest he wanted to stay, he really wanted to stay "Hinata…"

"Sleep here tonight" she begged still not looking at him properly "stay with me, I want you to."

-

Rising up from the bed next morning Hinata looked down at Naruto lovingly, she adored him so much that it was hard to know she was about to leave him behind. She leant down and kissed him tenderly, even in his sleep his lips responded to her, she pulled away and watched him sigh happily and roll onto his side. Tears welled up in her eyes and she walked determinedly towards the kitchen, she knew for a fact that peppermint tea would be best right now after all, her kunoichi training meant she had learnt a lot.

One of the first things they teach you if you think you may ever go undercover for assassination, peppermint tea disguises the taste of arrowroot poison.

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Please R&R


	18. The Warrior versus The Tyrant

Dedicated to Mendokusee on Youtube the 'While your lips are still red' video really helped me get in the mood for this, it was NaruHina and the song is so beautiful but it has a tragic sound to it. Perfect for this chapter. Just a note, I am using Manda in this chapter because I don't know many other snake summons and as he is Orochimaru's personal summons so I figured I'd just use him here! (I guess that tells you a bit about what will happen in this chapter)

I do not own Naruto

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Naruto awoke to find himself lying alone in an unknown bed, he sat up looking around blearily until realisation of where he was and what had happened hit him. Grinning he climbed out of bed and went in search of his lover, he didn't know his way around Sakura's home but he managed pretty well and he headed straight to the kitchen.

He discovered Hinata sitting at the table staring at a coffee mug. She was staring intently at the cup in front of her studying it as though it were the most interesting thing in existence. She didn't even notice him enter the room, he worried for a moment that last night had upset her and moved closer. As he walked forward she looked up, the timid smile on her lips allayed his fears but she didn't move.

"Good morning" Naruto paused sitting down across the table from her. "Is something wrong?"

The smile had fallen from her face and was replaced by an unhappy frown "No" Hinata shook her head and a few tears fell down her cheeks "I'm… I'm sorry"

"For what?"

"You need to know… I really… I really love you" Hinata sniffed noisily as she spoke, she struggled to speak trying to get the words out, her throat felt tight "I will always love you and…"

"And" he urged fearfully

"Don't you see… It'll never stop, not whilst I'm around, they won't ever stop hurting people… I'm doing this to save everyone"

Terrified by her words Naruto leaned forward to ask "Doing what? What are you going to do?" she didn't answer him, her eyes merely glanced down at her cup and then he knew.

Reaching across the table he grabbed the empty cup and lifted it to his nose, peppermint with slight underlying scent of arrowroot that only heightened senses could ever pick up "No" standing swiftly his chair shot out behind him clattering to the floor, staring down at her he yelled "NO!"

Running around the table he grabbed her up, off her chair, pulling her into his arms as he ran to find Sakura's room. He didn't even bother to knock on the doors as he flung them open rushing to get help.

"NARUTO I COULD HAVE BEE…!" Seeing the limp girl in his arms and the look on his face Sakura stopped herself from yelling and ran forward "Oh my God what happened?"

"She took something. Arrowroot I think." Naruto dropped to his knees still holding Hinata close, Sakura followed them to the floor her hands lighting up with a chakra as she studied Hinata's body.

"I can't…" Sakura whispered her face falling, "I don't know how… I'm getting Tsunade" jumping up Sakura was out of her bedroom window before Naruto could even think of something to say.

Sitting in Sakura's bedroom doorway Naruto cradled Hinata to his chest staring at her pale face as it got even paler.

"You'd better not die" he whispered kissing her forehead roughly, he moved his mouth to hers kissing her fiercely and trying to ignore how weak her response was "Don't you dare die!"

She was shaking now as though she was cold "Rather… rather a pathetic death for a… ninja. The elder's are gonna hate me for…"

"They don't matter" Naruto hissed he didn't know what to do or say, he just sat there holding her trying to keep her small body warm "What they think never mattered, you matter, you're all that matters. Oh god Hinata… how could you do this? After all we did to protect you?"

"They would never have stopped Naruto… they would have killed and killed until they got what they wanted, this way they have no reason to hurt anyone else, I couldn't let him hurt anyone else"

"I'd have stopped him, I'd have stopped them all."

"Every single Warrior Prince has died because of the Chosen One, one of us would have gone eventually, I just… sped things up…" she moaned softly s a spasm of pain wracked her body "just a little… please don't hate me"

He shook his head determinedly "Never. I could never hate you."

"You… you're going to do great things…. I'll watch you, I'll s-see…. See you become Hokage"

"Yeah, because you'll be right next to me holding my hand when I do" he told her trying to convince them both that she was going to live. "You're in so much trouble for this when Tsunade gets here"

"You… made me happier" Hinata gave a rasping breath as she tried to talk, every word was laboured and as she spoke Naruto could practically see her fading away "than I ever…. ever was before."

"Don't talk, save your strength." he whispered tightening his hold on her as though by holding her he would be able to force her soul and life to stay within her body, as hard as he tried to stop them tears were rolling down his face and dripping onto hers "Don't talk."

"I love you"

Looking into her eyes Naruto could see how much she meant that statement, he could also see how quickly she was fading, even if Tsunade arrived now there would be no hope. Well he wasn't going to let her die without him responding to that statement

"I love you too, so much." Her eyes lit up for a brief moment then just as quickly they faded glazing over into an expression of vacancy "Hinata?" he shook her, there was no response he shook her again calling out her name, still nothing. Staring down he ran his hands through her soft hair, she was still so beautiful, and it was like she was simply slumbering. Not even trying to stop the tears now Naruto let out a low groan of sorrow and pulled Hinata towards his chest tightening his hold on her.

He didn't detect anything when Tsunade and Sakura arrived, a rare thing for a ninja like himself but it wasn't until Tsunade gently tried to pulled him away from Hinata's body that he was even conscious that there were others present. He wouldn't let go, pressing his lips to her still warm forehead he held her to him rocking her gently as though sending her off to sleep.

-- --

Shikamaru was awoken by someone pounding at his door, he groaned rolling over and wishing that he had the inclination to make the effort to save up and get his own place, as it was he was still living at home and his mother was always waking him up far too…

"Sh-Shika? You awake?"

"Ino?" jumping up from his bed Shikamaru pulled on a robe before opening the door "Ino what's happened?" the blonde girl just stood there her eyes red and tears pouring down her face, it was probably the most unattractive he'd ever seen her but he just took her into his arms and hugged her "come on" taking her to his bed he sat her down "What's wrong?"

"It's Hinata" she sobbed miserably

Immediately Shikamaru knew what has happened, tightening his hold on her he whispered "She did what she thought was right Ino"

"But it's so unfair" Ino wept holding onto Shikamaru "she and Naruto had just got together and she could have been so happy, why? Why would she do that?"

"Ino…" Shikamaru placed one and under her chin and forced her to look up at him, wiping the tears form her face he gave her an affectionate look "Hinata would have known that the attack on the village yesterday was all about her, you heard about her father and the genin that died, she's the kind of person that would have always carried that guilt around with her."

"I know but… she was such a good friend, we got so close and… I know it sounds selfish but I'm going to miss her."

There wasn't anything Shikamaru could do, embracing her he told her soothing things, running his fingers through her long hair and marvelling at how soft it was, he couldn't believe that he was using this tragic situation to hold her but he couldn't help himself.

Leaning against her team mate Ino felt soothed by his actions, Shikamaru had always been so strong for her, he may be lazy but he was steady, dependable, looking up at him she gave him a small smile "I'm sorry I woke you up, I just… I didn't know who else to turn to."

"It's alright" Shikamaru shrugged "I don't mind you coming around, it's no trouble"

"Really?" Ino looked vaguely amused as she sniffed wiping her nose on the back of her hand "No trouble whatsoever?"

"No" Shikamaru told her tenderly "no trouble at all" lifting one hand to her cheek he wiped the tears away, Ino smiled back at him touched by his words, then ever so slowly the two of them moved closer, Ino's smile became nervous and her breathing became shallow, Shikamaru's own smile widened just before he connected their lips and kissed her gently.

The kiss was short, sweet and as they parted Ino made a small whimpering sound, her eyes remained tightly closed worrying Shikamaru briefly, he'd probably just picked the worst moment ever to make a move. His fears were relieved when Ino opened her eyes and smiled gently, her lips moved trying unsuccessfully to speak.

"Are you alright?" he asked nervously

"Why did you…?"

"Because I care about you, I care a great deal about you and…"

"I love you too Shika" Ino whispered before kissing him once more.

--

"The Hyuga wish to arrange for her funeral, as both she and Hiashi are gone they…"

"No" Naruto shook his head "they'll put her ashes in that stupid mausoleum, she wouldn't want that. I'll sort it"

Tsunade sighed at his determination, still it was nice to know he cared about something right now. For a little while everyone had been very worried about Naruto, he was still very withdrawn but thanks to various friends of his he was beginning to break away from his depression. "They aren't going to be too happy with that, and it'll be expensive to arrange…"

"I said, I'll sort it. If they argue send em to argue with me."

"Of course" Tsunade nodded, she wouldn't make the Hyuga go to him with their complaints she'd stop that, she'd let Naruto mourn his way. He deserved that much. "Anything else you wanted to talk about? Missions, training,"

"Missions? Training?" Naruto stared at her as though she'd just announced that she had a winning lottery ticket "I can't think about that"

"As hard as this is to hear, you have to go on with your life, she'd have wanted that."

"How the hell am I supposed to continue after this? I can't even…." he paused, there was no need to tell Tsunade his problems. He made a frustrated sound as he wrung his hands together.

"Naruto I know just how you feel right now" Tsunade spoke carefully as she sipped her Sake, "Food repulses you, there's an ache in your heart, all you want to do is die yourself, sometimes you don't even breathe properly. You can't sleep, and when you do your dreams are awful. You wake up and for a second you don't remember that she's gone, or you think it was all a nightmare and then, then it comes flooding back and you're despair gets steadily worse. You hear a noise, like a smash of glass or a clash of metal upon metal and you look around and worry about it and then, you don't understand why you are worrying. The worst thing that could possibly happen to you already has. I know that right now your heart feels like it will never recover…"

"And you're going to tell me it will?" he chuckled darkly.

"No…, every time you love someone, or fall in love it's different. Hinata may have been to you what Dan was to me, the one. I don't know… but I do know this. She would want you to continue to live, to follow your dreams and if you ever fall in love again, she won't hate you for it."

"I won't" Naruto shook his head "the love I had for her…, nothing else can possible compare."

"Like I said, I'm not going to argue with that… I'm the least qualified person to talk about how easy it is to move on"

"She wants me to be Hokage"

"So do I"

"I guess… I shouldn't let her down on that score." Naruto wiped the tears that were spilling from his eyes "I just…" his voice broke "I want her back" Tsunade sat next to him and wrapped her arms around him letting him cry on her shoulder.

"I know, I know."

--

**Eight years later**

Naruto and Konohamaru were lounging in the chairs in the Hokage office as they drank tea and laughed about the good old days when they were competing with their sexy techniques. Naruto had finally become Hokage and though the job was tougher than he ever imagined it would be he didn't mind. He knew that everyday Hinata was looking down at him proud of his work.

"Hanabi Hyuga requests an audience with you Hokage sama" Naruto groaned as his secretary flashed him a sympathetic grin, "I know, but… She says it's very important"

"Fine, fine, you can hang around Konohamaru, it won't take long, there aren't many members of that clan that I can stand for longer than ten minutes. In fact, there's only two" Naruto stretched and sat up properly to receive his guest while Konohamaru stood and moved to stand respectfully behind his chair. "Send her in."

It was a well known fact in Konoha that Hanabi acted like a little empress, she was snobby, cruel, and extremely proud. This of course made her father and his clan extremely proud. They were so proud that at the tender age of 21 she had been named the absolute head of the Hyuga clan. Her father had stepped down and she had been told all the secrets of the Hyuga clan.

When Hanabi entered the room she was not alone, with her were the three highest ranking members of the council, her main advisor, Neji, TenTen and their son Hizashi

"Hyuga sama" Naruto stood and bowed "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Hokage" Hanabi bowed "As you know I have been head of the clan for a few months now"

"Yes"

"Well today Hizashi turns five years old, he is the first child of the Hyuga clan to turn five since I was officially named clan head. The first child in need of sealing by me."

Naruto looked from Hanabi to Ten-Ten and Neji "I see…, what does this have to do with me, I have no authority over this as I'm sure you know."

"I do know, but I wish this momentous occasion to be marked down in history" Hanabi looked like the stuck up brat she was supposed to be as she said this. Behind her, a few selected members of her council and father looked on proudly.

"Very well" Naruto nodded "Konohamaru take note of this" the boy behind him nodded unhappily, he looked down at the cute little boy standing behind his fathers leg.

"Hizashi?" Hanabi knelt and beckoned the boy over, Hizashi bit his lip and finally pulled away from his parents to stand by Hanabi. Behind him Ten-Ten gave a quiet sob and clutched Neji's arm, she had thought herself prepared for this but it would appear that she wasn't as ready as she thought.

"Hizashi" Hanabi smiled at the kid "Tell me, are you a good boy? Do you always do as your told?"

"No… but only sometimes…" the child trailed off biting his finger "Mummy says I'm a good boy."

"I am your clan leader, do you know what that means?" Hanabi asked, she could sense the confusion from the others but none of them were seriously questioning her actions yet.

"You're in charge"

"Yes, so you have to do whatever I tell you, will you do that?"

Hizashi paused still biting his finger before finally nodding

"Good boy, that's good enough for me" Hanabi stood and turned to Neji and Ten-Ten "you can take him home now. Hokage, please let it be written that Hyuga Hizashi son of Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Ten-Ten was the first child I was supposed to seal, and the first I refused. I am changing the Hyuga and I expect your help, you did once promise to help with that." Around the room jaws dropped and Ten-Ten gave a strangled sob as she embraced her son "The caged bird seal will be outlawed, I am still studying it and I will soon know how to remove it, I am studying a way to seal the Byakugan so no one can steal it and, more importantly, no one can be enslaved by it but… that will take time, once I have that method of sealing it ALL WILL WEAR THE SEAL. The clan will be in upheaval for a while but I hope that with your help that I'll be able to make the changes as smoothly as possible." she smiled easily at Naruto enjoying everyone's shock

"What?"

Three people spoke the one worded question, one was Neji who just held tightly on to Ten-Ten, she had been stunned into silence, the second was Naruto who was grinning from ear to ear at the proposed change while Hanabi's main advisor stared at his foster daughter as though she had grown two heads.

"You all heard me…" Hanabi turned to face her advisor "I know that this must be a shock for you all, after all, I was the next ruler of the clan expected to bring it to it's former glory, the ice cold leader that would only ever be concerned with the clan and nothing more…, really it killed me to be a bitch. I love my clan… and I respect our traditions but, I loved Hinata more than anyone else, she was good, and kind, and incredibly brave. Her real bravery was that she never wanted to control others, her idea was to rule with kindness not an iron fist. We master the gentle fist in every way but our leadership. I will not allow the Hyuga to become what it is fast on it's way to becoming."

"And what is that?" Hanabi's appointed advisor asked still seething with rage

"The next clan to have a massacre. One day the branch family will realise that they should not have to suffer as they do and they will rise up. I am going to rule **MY** clan by the only rule Hinata ever gave me. Do unto others as you would be treated yourself."

"Your father…"

"Made great mistakes," Hanabi interrupted in a very Hyuga like way "and his biggest one was sealing Hinata, he recognised that. His last action in this world was to save my sister, it was the single most important thing he ever did."

For some time chaos reigned in the Hokages office but soon Naruto managed to herd everyone but Hanabi and Konohamaru out.

"Well that went well" Hanabi had sighed as soon as her father and the council members had left the room "Sorry to have done it here but… well doing it privately may have meant they could have 'removed me from power' without any argument and no one would have known my plans. I'm playing a very dangerous game."

"It went better than I thought" Konohamaru muttered "I thought you were going to seal that kid"

Hanabi chuckled darkly "No, I would have hated it, besides…, do you know why Hinata was sealed?"

"She was thought to be weak" Naruto muttered

"No…, that was part of it, but she failed the test… you see both of us were placed under a genjutsu…, for many years I thought it was a nightmare, it was ages before I realised what had really happened." Hanabi shook her head unhappily as she remembered this "In the genjutsu I saw Hinata sealed as a branch member and she was attacking me, in hers she saw me sealed and I was attacking her. Somehow I knew the way to activate the seal… straight away I used the seal to stop her, but in her genjutsu Hinata allowed me to almost kill her rather than use the seal. She couldn't do it to me."

"Sounds like Hinata" Naruto smiled to himself as he thought about it

"How did you find out you were wrong about it?" Konohamaru asked curiously

"After my fathers death I spent a lot of time in his study, he had detailed notes on it all… he regretted her hurt but had deemed me worthy when I was very young. He wrote that he knew that if anyone could improve the clan it would be me."

"Hinata said she felt he blamed her for her uncles death"

"I know… after reading what I did, well… that's when I knew I had to lose the seal… that reminds me" Hanabi reached into the bag she was holding and pulled out a large rectangular present wrapped in silver paper. "I… know that your birthday is tomorrow and the Hyuga will give you an official gift then but, I thought you'd like this" Hanabi handed the gift to Naruto. "I've wanted to give it to you for years but I couldn't, it would have blown my cover as the ice queen!" she grinned at the nickname knowing that it was one of the more polite names she had been given.

Frowning Naruto unwrapped the gift, it was a large silver photo frame and the picture inside was of the two Hyuga sisters Hanabi and Hinata. It was a picture that looked like it had been taken just a short while before Naruto and Hinata had headed to Suna on their final mission together, Hinata and Hanabi sat together grinning at the camera surrounded by the flowers in their garden.

"Ha-Hanabi" Naruto felt tears at the corners of his eyes, he had very few pictures of his love, they hadn't been together for long when she died so the only picture he had of them actually together was from their academy days and the only older picture he had was taken from her ninja file. "Thank you"

"Not a problem, that girl avoided camera's like they carried plague but I managed to get this one taken a couple of months before she died, I'll see you another day" Hanabi smiled and turned to the door

"I'll show you out" Konohamaru said tactfully deciding that it would be wise to leave Naruto alone for a few moments and so saying he followed Hanabi to the door.

"Hanabi…?"

"Yes Hokage?"

"She'd have been very proud of you"

Hanabi smiled her lower lip trembling a little "I think she's very proud of us both"

--

The seventh Hokage smiled as he lay on the grass admiring the clouds above, he rarely got time when he could look up at the clouds and he'd forgotten how beautiful they looked. He couldn't be bothered to get up which was probably a good thing… He was over thirty now… damn he was old! He had been Hokage for just over five years and though people had at first just seen him as just a strong weapon to protect the city they had recently come to recognise his good work as Hoka...

"Naruto!?!"

Sighing as he recognised his chief medic-nin's voice Naruto closed his eyes, perhaps she wouldn't find…

"He's there!!"

Neji, why did she have bring him?

Turning his head he looked to his left where a group of his own leaf shinobi ran his way. As he watched Sakura run to him Naruto sighed, there were a lot of whispers about the seventh Hokage and his chief medical officer, they had been 'friends' since childhood and when Sasuke Uchiha had married three civilian women to help him revive his clan….

'yeah that's why he married them' Naruto thought to himself as he thought about the day Sasuke had married the three extremely beautiful and voluptuous women.

…. and Sakura had remained single people had assumed that he and Sakura would eventually get together. Some people even thought that they had secretly married or were having a clandestine relationship, he did sleep in her apartment a lot. It wasn't true and would never happen, closing his eyes Naruto could picture in his mind the reason why he would never marry. Midnight blue hair, luminous opalescent eyes… yeah he knew fancy words… pale skin that made you wonder is she ever went out in broad daylight and a blush so cute that you just wanted to embarrass her so she'd turn red again. That was the reason he often stayed with Sakura, so he could sleep in the room where he and Hinata had made love that night.

Sakura wasn't the only one he ever got paired up with, when Mayu had decided to stay in Konoha everyone had assumed that she had done so to stay with Naruto. It was probably true on her part, the girl had made no excuses and even assured Naruto that she had designs on him. It had confused him, she knew as well as anyone what the Chosen One and Warrior Prince meant to each other, she knew as well as anyone that even if the Warrior Prince lived on after the Chosen One's death he had never before looked to someone else. Eternal and unrivalled love, her teacher had said, and it was true he had never felt even a slight romantic feeling towards any other woman, his love for Hinata was unwavering… man he was sleepy.

"Naruto!" Sakura dropped to her knees beside him "It took us ages to find you"

"It was meant to" Naruto tried to move but then he remembered that it wasn't just boredom and reminiscing that made him remain still, it was the stabbing pain in his side, in his back, in his arms and in his left leg. How had he gotten them again? Oh yeah, he'd been stabbed! Chuckling a little at his own joke Naruto immediately regretted it as his chest tightened painfully.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Protecting the village, that's what I'm there for." he kept his eyes closed as he continued picturing the love of his life. "After all. I am the seventh Hokage." He chuckled, he'd always wanted to say a phrase like that, he'd heard the old man say it, he'd heard Tsunade say it, now he could say it.

He chuckled a little as he thought of Tsunade, she was now officially the last Sanin in the world, across the clearing he could see the body of the other sannin that had been living lately

-

When the message that Orochimaru had been seen in a nearby village reached Konoha, Naruto was the first one to receive it. He called on no one, he waited for no one, he said goodbye to no one, he had simply removed his hat and coat and left them in Konohamaru's desk, then, donning an old black t-shirt and trousers he had left the village.

It wasn't the first sighting of the serpent summoner, not by any means, over the ten years since Hinata died he had been seen a total of fifty seven times. Naruto had recorded every single one, they had usually been far from the leaf village and as Naruto's duties kept him close to the village he had known that by the time he reached the sannin he would be gone. Orochimaru never stayed in one place for too long. Since the chosen one's death Orochimaru's followers had disappeared, Kabuto remained loyal as ever but even he had gone recently, there were rumours that Orochimaru had finally tired of him and killed him. It wasn't unlikely according to Sasuke, the bespectacled man had his uses but was ultimately a pain in the ass. Orochimaru only ever endured his tendencies whilst he was useful and when his usefulness had come to an end he had given him up.

Naruto had known he would find the enemy alone, he didn't know how, he had just known. He didn't know why he had headed slightly east hoping to meet him but he had. He liked to believe that there was some divine intervention going on, that Hinata was somehow guiding him to where he needed to be.

Soon he didn't need divine intervention, he could sense the evil coming form the man he was searching, he could feel his chakra, the poisonous way it leaked into the air made civilians run terrified in the opposite direction.

He was waiting for him, the battle ground was of his choosing but he had only been there a short while, it was unlikely that he had set any traps. Even so Naruto was wary as he walked into the forest clearing to meet the snake summoner.

"I've been expecting you to come after me" Orochimaru stared Naruto down a small smirk playing on his lips "You took your time about it"

"I had things to do" Naruto shrugged it off but his eyes were filled with hate the like of witch he had never felt before "but now I have done all I need to and I am going to kill you."

"You can try, but you will fail, I am a sannin after all" Orochimaru mocked him easily but it had no affect on Naruto

"And yet all this time you haven't done anything, all that time whilst Kabuto was chasing after Hinata and all the rest of it you just sat like some stuck up King awaiting your reward." They regarded each other their eyes filled with loathing "Still I didn't come here to talk with you"

"And I didn't allow my position to become known so I could talk with you"

Both men smiled as they began making symbols, the sheer pleasure of imagining how they would kill the other filling them as they simultaneously slammed their hands to the ground.

Smoke filled the air around them as they rose high above the ground, neither of them had any trouble adjusting to the new base upon which they stood.

Orochimaru crouched low whispering orders to his summons but Naruto merely looked down "Ready Kichi?"

"YOU KNOW IT!" It was hard to believe that the humongous toad below him had been so small that Naruto had considered him anything but a help in a fight. As Naruto looked the image of Minato Gamakichi now resembled his own father. He even had the signature pipe held between his teeth.

Crouching down so that he would remain on Gamakichi's head Naruto felt the air rush past him as they swept forward to do battle.

In second the snake was moving, he slid forward curving his tail up and out attempting to wind it's coils around Gamakichi. The toad was surprisingly fast as it leapt up and away from it's opponent, he leapt high spinning around and unsheathing the sword he kept at his side, thrusting the blade forward both toad and boy dropped down aiming for the serpents head.

Hissing in anger the snake slipped out of the way but as the creature moved it's head one way a rasengan came hurtling in that direction. It missed by a hairs breadth singing the snakes skin as it flew by but it angered the serpent. A long evil smelling tongue flew from it's mouth and went straight for Naruto. The blonde dropped flat upon Gamakichi's back feeling disgusted as the slimy tongue hit him but he was safe enough.

upon Manda's head Orochimaru smiled, with Naruto pinned down in one place he could easily aim for him. He sent a volley of kunai towards the toads head, they would have little affect on Gamakichi but if they hit Naruto…

"Above us" Gamakichi yelled to his summoner, Naruto flipped over and rolled across the toads head letting the kunai rain down upon the toads flesh where they bounced as though they had been nothing but hail.

Growling angrily Naruto got to his feet and began a very familiar technique. In no time at all over a hundred Naruto's covered the area, some perched on Gamakichi's back, others hung from trees, more stood on the ground, whilst a very daring few danced upon Manda's back.

"You insignificant newt" Manda hissed as he looked around him "I can destroy you all"

"You're gonna have to" the Naruto's teased in unison as they all pulled out Kunai and began to attack.

Laughing jeeringly Manda had no fear about the simple kunai that each clone carried until they began to his him causing his skin to burn. He began to writhe in agony unable to comprehend how the blades had pierced his tough scales.

"Hey Kichi I think I'm ruining this skin, we're never gonna set up a show shop now!" Naruto muttered from his resting point behind Gamakichi's ear

"How bad did it get you" Gamakichi enquired almost silently as he leapt away leaving various Naruto's to their work

"Bad" Naruto muttered angrily, though it had appeared to Orochimaru and Manda that ever single Kunai had missed him it hadn't been so. As Naruto had rolled one particularly well thrown weapon had sliced into his side in between his ribs.

"Can you heal it?"

"I've got no knowledge on how to" Naruto groaned "and the Kyubbi's chakra is low, all those clones have had the Kyubbi's power infused in their weapons."

"The one time having a demon inside of you could have helped and you go waste it's chakra"

"Hey I need to get rid of Manda, once he's gone it'll be just me and that freak"

"And he's fine whilst you've a knife in your chest"

"It's a kunai" Naruto corrected childishly "and I took it out now… the bloods stopped gushing, that's good… right?"

"I dunno, I'm a toad, we have very different medical needs… oh damn it, I think Manda's worked it out" as he spoke Gamakichi began moving again, he dodged as the serpent flew through the air towards him, the serpent moved with magnificent speed only to stop exactly one inch away from his intended prey and drop mightily to the ground. Naruto and Gamakichi exchanged a look until they looked along the snakes tail where over fifty clones were holding him back. "Well that makes this easier" Gamakichi declared as he raised his sword above his head and plunged it into Manda headed pinning him to the ground. Both he and Naruto sighed

"Ah the memories!"

"You worthless scum" Orochimaru was furious as he used the sword to raise himself up charging chakra into his hands, Naruto only just had time to move so that Orochimaru didn't destroy any important organs before the dark haired man was on top of him his hands around his neck.

Raising one leg Naruto kicked a particularly tender point of the male anatomy and sent the dark haired freak flying before jumping up just as ready as ever. Manda was not out for the count either, despite his pain he continued to fight loosening the clones hold on it he then began using his tail to pull the sword from his mouth before sending it hurtling towards his amphibious opponent. It was such close, Naruto knew Gamakichi wasn't going to have time to move and ran forward charging up a ball of chakra, all around him the wind picked up and the sword was slowed down as he hurled his power at the blade.

Gamakichi was still hit but the extent of the damage was lessened thanks to Naruto's attack. The blonde then created more clones bestowing them each with the demonic chakra he knew would be needed to fight Manda, he literally felt himself weakened but cared very little about it until the knife entered his back, turning Naruto swung a fist at Orochimaru causing him to fall away but he did not go as far as he would have done if Naruto was at full capacity.

Orochimaru wiped blood from his upper lip and smirked "You're weakening boy"

"And you're ugly old man, but unlike you there is something I can do about that" Naruto knew that this was it, he had one last chance to truly destroy this man. Clenching his fists he let the power inside himself grow, he pulled on the Kyubbi's chakra not caring about how it literally burnt his skin, there was only one way to call on the Kyubbi's power and still keep tabs on him, by letting their chakra's merge. There was only one problem with this merging, in very little time, it would poison his own system and kill him. Pressing a hand to his side where a scroll held the shield he had used only once in battle he declared "FOR HINATA" and launched himself forwards.

Unable to believe the power that the young man now possessed Orochimaru tried to move away but Naruto was on him in a flash of light, his hands at his neck he took up a position similar to the one Orochimaru had been in before and focussed on cutting off the mans airways.

Orochimaru called out to Manda but there was little point, Manda was in a bad way and didn't really give a damn about Orochimaru, as his own wounds took their toll the purple serpent disappeared in a cloud of smoke

"All alone Orochimaru" Naruto taunted as he watched the man choke and struggle the red chakra coursing through him was actually burning Orochimaru's flesh… well every cloud had a silver lining! "Do you not see it? You're alone, no one cares whether or not you die, but people care about me, Gamakichi wouldn't just slink away and lick his own wounds if he could help me. That is what being a tyrant brings you… no one cares." Naruto's eyes were wide as Orochimaru gave a final choke and went limp. Making sure he was dead Naruto then searched the mans robes pulling two sealing scrolls from the pockets and nodding to himself as he inspected the contents without opening them. Content that all was right he pushed the scrolls into his own pocket

Pulling out a small sword Naruto then sliced the evil man's head from his shoulders and dropped both head and body to the ground.

Silence filled the clearing as one by one the Naruto clones disappeared making Naruto flinch repeatedly. As soon as they were all gone Naruto dropped to his knees, a long tongue slid around him lifting him and placing him on the ground.

"Is it any use me taking you to a hospital?" Gamakichi asked when his tongue had slid back into his mouth.

"Absolutely none" Naruto told him feeling his entire body burn less and less until finally there was no more "I think he's gone." They said nothing more for many minutes as they marked the passing of an evil being that had been a part of Naruto's life since the day he was born.

"Do you want me to tell them where you are?" Gamakichi asked as he rested heavily on the ground "I could somehow…"

"No" Naruto shook his head and smiled at his comrade "Hell! Even the Kyubbi's given up…if he couldn't heal me I doubt anyone else can… I'm sorry I can't offer you a sakѐ as a final drink between us. I'd have liked to… have one last drink as the henchman of the great Gamakichi" he smiled exhaustedly as Gamakichi chuckled loudly

"I'll have one in your memory, it's sad to think that this is it."

Naruto chuckled "Come on Kichi, you know my fate, I'll be back, it's just gonna be a little while and… I might not know how to summon toads when I do"

"I better go, I need to heal" Gamakichi didn't want to leave his old friend but he knew that there was nothing he could do

"Take this" Naruto pleaded pushing a scroll towards him "It needs to be hidden. I trust you and you alone with this Gamakichi."

"The trust is well placed…"

"You better go… I'm just gonna lay here… watch the clouds float by"

-

"Come on stay with me" Sakura begged as she placed her hands over his wounds, his eyes opened and he found himself staring up into Sakura's tearful eyes. Behind Sakura stood Lee, Neji, Shikamaru and… Hinata?

His eyes focussed on the last person he had seen, unlike the rest of the group who stood or knelt to his right she moved so she was standing on his left. Unlike the rest of the group whose expressions were full of fear and apprehension hers was quiet, serene. The others were battle weary, covered in dirt and ready for an attack but she looked completely unmarked wearing a spotless white and lavender jacket and dark blue trousers, she stood her hands clasped in front of her smiling gently.

"Look at me Naruto!" Sakura begged as she continued healing him not noticing that his attention had move away from her entirely.

"Hinata" he whispered lifting up his hand towards the beautiful girl, she in turn reached her hand down towards him.

"Naruto?" Sakura looked to where his hand reached, there was nothing there, nothing that she could see anyway. "Naruto you've got to stay with me."

"Sorry Sakura" Naruto turned his gaze to her for a split second before staring to the left where the spectre stood "I've already named my successor and I stopped having a reason to live ten years ago. I only kept going so I could do this, Orochimaru is dead and the axe and chalice." Naruto shifted awkwardly pulling two scrolls form his pack "They're sealed in here, take them away, bury them, make it so they're impossible to find. You're a good person Sakura, live a good life, and tell Konohamaru congrats for me!"

"I will" Sakura gave up then, sitting back on her heels she watched as the life faded from her best friends face. He seemed to make a last minute shift and power could be seen and felt surging through his body, spreading out around him until finally there was no more. It was a quick process and soon all Sakura had to do was help lift Naruto's body onto their friends' shoulders and the small group headed back to the village.

* * *

Please R&R the next chapter will be up really soon, it's short and over halfway written already.


	19. The future?

Well there are kind of mixed thoughts about the last chapter, I was really hoping someone would tell me how I handled the fight between Naruto and Orochimaru, I find it really hard to write fight scenes and I know very little about techniques and such, I could study I suppose but then the chapters would take even longer and more importantly I wouldn't feel them flowing properly, I write those scenes quickly as they kind of need to be fast paced.

Anyway, about Naruto… I do not own it!!

* * *

When someone, any average Joe on the street dies people mourn, his family, his close friends and any person he knew would be in mourning of a sort but when a hokage dies then the entire village feels the loss.

When Naruto had been carried back into the village the mourning began at the gates, Tsunade had been standing by with Shizune expecting him to return looking a little sheepish for having gone off like that and sure of a scolding. Instead she had only needed to see Sakura's hunched shoulders and she knew. Tears fell from her eyes and sobs wracked Shizune's whole body. Neither of them could get over the fact that the loud boisterous boy that they considered family, was gone. People stood in silence watching as the blonde's body was carried through the village by his friends, they showed respect with bows and other gestures before following them in a somber procession as they carried the body towards the Hokage tower, taking Naruto back to his place of leadership one final time.

Konohamaru had been similarly bad but he had at least expected this. When he had opened his desk drawer and found Naruto's jacket and hat he had known that he wasn't going to spend any more time with his friend. Leaning back the young man looked at the picture on his desk, himself and his wife on their wedding day, was he ready for this? Were they ready for this? They had just had their second daughter… and both of his kids would miss their uncle Naruto… placing the hat and jacket back into the drawer he decided to head home. He needed to tell his wife what had happened and that Naruto was finally reunited with her sister.

The funeral was attended by more people than most Hokage's, quite often Hokage's die during a time of war and no one can really afford to travel from one village to another, security wise it was hell! This time they were all at peace and even if they hadn't been Gaara had declared that he would have come no matter what as did several others, people came from far and wide to mark the death of a man who had caused so much change for the better.

He had done one last good deed before his death, sitting at her desk Sakura didn't need to question what was in these scrolls, she stared at them both carefully. Since they had been given to her she hadn't let them out of her sight for a second, she needed too get rid of them…

"I'd like to request a long term mission" Sakura spoke decidedly as she faced the new Hokage "I've trained up enough people to replace me and I need to get out of the village for a while"

"Sakura I know we all miss Naruto"

"Konohamaru… this is something I promised him I'd do, please?" she pleaded gently, he frowned at her and then nodded his long dark hair falling onto his face as he did so

"Alright… I can't go against a past Hokage's wishes now can I?" he grinned cheerfully at her "There are a few missions that need to be done, a few small villages that need help bringing their hospitals up to standard or even starting a proper medical programme, how about you set up a team and head out?"

"Thank you Hokage-sama"

"That's alright… but you do know that if Hanabi gets pregnant again I'm calling you back here for the birth"

"I understand that, you'll want the best care for her"

"Yes… that's why" Konohamaru muttered, he decided not to tell her that it had more to do with the fact that when Hanabi had had her second baby and Sakura had not been around Konohamaru had been battered about quite a lot. He wasn't sure if having Sakura there would make a real difference but he knew better than to try and explain it to a hormonal Hanabi.

Sakura bowed politely and made her way to a certain friends house. Once upon a time this would have been the perfect mission for Ino but she knew before the blonde woman answered the door that it wasn't possible.

"Sakura!" Ino laughed at the sight of her friend, "I thought you were coming around next week… man am I losing it! Come on in"

"Awntie Sakuwa" the three year old on Ino's hip held it's arms out immediately

"Hello there baby Hinata" taking the little girl into her arms Sakura embraced the child and smiled at her friend "She's getting heavier!"

"I know, she eats like a pig… wipe that smirk off your face and if you dare say like mother like daughter I'll cram one of Shouhei's fire trucks down your throat."

Sakura smiled but said nothing as she followed Ino Nara into her home. The odd couple (as Sakura liked to call them) had been married for ten years now and had six kids to show for it. The majority of the children were boys but Ino had one daughter on whom she lavished much love and affection. The result was a very noisy household but once they started sending kids to the academy things got quieter, the eldest boy had his fathers brains and his mothers determination whilst their second eldest had his mothers fondness for flowers and his father natural apathy, the others were (as Sakura liked to say) halfway normal.

"Actually Ino I'm not supposed to be here today" Sakura informed her friend as they sat down watching the two youngest play on the carpeted floor "I came here to tell you something"

"What is it?" Ino asked feeling a little worried, since Naruto's death just over a week ago she had been worried for her friend, those two were as close as a man and woman can get without actually becoming lovers. Sakura had been quieter recently and had wandered around the village looking thoughtful.

"I need to get away for a while, not see the same old faces day in day out, it's sad for me so I requested a long term mission and the Hokage gave me one"

"You didn't scare him into it did you?"

"Of course not… I would only ever do that with Naruto!"

They laughed together before they caught each others eye and stopped rather suddenly "Sakura promise me you're not doing anything foolish"

"I'm not but I need a favour of you"

"Anything"

"I need you to hide this scroll somewhere where no one will ever find it."

Sakura made another six trips that day, each member of the Rookie nine was given a scroll and asked to hide it, this way Sakura reasoned no one person knew where more than one scroll was, ironically not even she would know where the items were hidden at then end of this, sure five of the scrolls were dummy scrolls with nothing in them but she could have one of those in her own hand right now. At dawn the next day all of the rookie nine that were still living met at the gate, each one had handed their responsibilities to someone else for the day and without a word all seven of them ran off in different directions, Sakura leading her medical team away from Komnoha smiled to herself, hopefully with all her false trails and determination the next Naruto and Hinata would have a chance at happiness.

Once Sakura had reached the outskirts of the forest in which Konoha rested she felt one of her comrades tense nervously.

"What is it Tinarda?" she whispered quietly

"We're being followed"

Sakura raised a hand halting her team, slowly she looked around trying to work out where their tag along was hiding from sight, finally she sensed the same thing her best nurse had and called out "Get out here, you're not fooling anyone!"

The figure that left the trees did not surprise Sakura, the moment she had been told that there was someone behind them she had guessed who it was.

"Are you following us for a reason Mayu?"

"He has given you the items needed by the cult of blood"

"He has" Sakura agreed "But I do not see what that has to do with you"

"My people are pledged to work for the warrior prince be he alive or dead"

"But your people are the first people anyone will go to, think about it Mayu, the last few years all he's done is concentrated on ways to make sure that the next reincarnation doesn't suffer like this, he's worked hard to ensure that the next warrior prince will be able to save his chosen one. Trust him, I do."

Sakura smiled hopefully at the dark hared girl in front of her, they had come to know each other very well over the years and she knew Mayu was totally devoted to Naruto.

"Very well" Mayu finally agreed "I shall not be in the hidden leaf village when you return, I must go back to my people now, they must have heard the news and there is much we must prepare for."

"How do you mean?" Sakura asked frowning in confusion "What needs to be done?"

"Decisions must be made about the next warrior prince, there are still Namikaze's in our clan. We must wait, for in time, he will come again."

"I hope he's got friends like you when he does" Sakura acknowledged her dedication with this sentence

"And I hope he has friends like yourself and your friends… just, maybe a little less violent towards him" Smirking at Sakura's annoyed look Mayu then turned and leapt up into the trees, the pink haired girl just shook her head and waved her team on, they had a long journey ahead of them.

--

"How are you feeling sweetheart?" Minato watched his pale hand run through his girlfriends fiery red hair "Any better?"

"I'm so exhausted" Kushina muttered as she leant into his hand enjoying his caress "but he was so worth it" she smiled across at the plastic crib in which her baby boy lay sleeping "Are we still sure on the name?"

"I think it suits him" Minato shrugged as he wandered over to the crib picking up his son and taking him back over to his mother "want to hold him?"

"Please" Kushina's eyes lit up as he lowered the baby into her arms "Oh he's perfect… he's very like you"

"Does that mean I'm perfect?" Minato teased happily

"No it just means he looks like you but got all my awesomeness!" she stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Lucky kid" he responded obediently sitting up on the bed "I love you Kushina"

She blushed red feeling embarrassed "I love you too" she muttered, she knew this hadn't been the plan, they had been together for only a couple of months when she discovered that she was pregnant. Minato had surprised her, he hadn't balked at it in anyway, he had been shocked but the boyish smile that she had first fallen for had flashed across his face, he asked her what she wanted, and invited her to move from her own cramped flat into his three bedroom flat where she had a room of her own. The next eight months had been… weird, they argued, they laughed, they spent more time with each other than with anyone else and by the end of it Kushina was completely smitten, she loved him, that was all there was to it. She had blurted it out last night her face red and her eyes focused on the floor.

There was a long silence and then he had said it right back to her, they had ended up in a passionate embrace which led to the bedroom and then to the hospital, the doctors said that it wasn't the first time sex this late in the pregnancy had led to an early labour, she had given them a firm telling off with a sly twinkle in her eye that had made Kushina blush again.

It seemed kind of weird to her that the first time the father of her son said he loved her was also the night he came into the world.

"It shouldn't have happened this way" Minato said echoing her own thoughts "I don't regret it though" he played with her hair " He's perfect, you're perfect, but there's one thing that I would change about this"

"What's that?"

"I'd have asked you to marry me tonight instead of making you go into labour"

"What?" she was so stunned that she was pleased that she lay on a bed, that way if she dropped her son in shock he would merely fall onto her blanketed knees and not the floor.

He grinned down as her wide blue eyes stared up at him in shock "Kushina Uzumaki, I know this isn't exactly the perfect moment to do this but… will you make me happier than I ever though possible and become my wife?"

She couldn't speak, she literally couldn't answer him, instead she just nodded.

"Good" he smiled bending down to kiss her, as he did so the little boy in her arms began to grizzle unhappily "Looks like Naruto disapproves of his old man" Minato laughed lightly running his hand over his son's head "You be quiet, I already know she's too good for me" he grinned at the woman in his arms "But if she's willing to have me then I'll never let her regret it."

--

"Isn't she beautiful?" a tired young woman lay back against the pillows of her hospital bed, she stared down at the tiny baby in her arms.

"Absolutely stunning" her husband agreed wrapping one arm around her shoulders "Just like her mother"

"Hiashi you are such a softie"

"Don't go telling anyone" he told her sternly kissing the top of her head, he truly adored his wife, she was everything he needed in life and the idea that their love had created a child meant a great deal to him. He looked down at the child in his wife's arms "Are we still naming her after your mother?"

"Mai…" looking down the woman shook her head," she doesn't look particularly like a Mai, I can't call her that, she needs to look like her name."

"Well we could name her after your grandmother, I know how much she meant to you"

"She's not a Hanabi either… she's a Hinata"

"Hinata" Hiashi sounded out the name out loud and again in his mind, Hinata Hyuga would be a good name "Alright, Hinata it is."

* * *

Short I know but..., good ending? Bad ending? Are you left wanting more? Does anyone want a sequel because I might have one in the works.

Please review, I stayed up till really late writing these last two chapters!!


	20. A new meeting

Plpm2 a

Instead of beginning a new fic I'm adding to this story as I think it will be easier for me to keep track of it.

There are two main reasons why book 1 of the fic ended the way it did, the first is that I have written a lot of fluff for NaruHina over my time here I thought it was time to try some angst and I was at the time very angsty (still am I guess), and death was a huge part of my life, and secondly as I began to write the sequel I gave Naruto and Hinata positions in society that were slightly more similar to the first incarnation and I find I can write it easier. Still, I never meant to upset anyone with my last story and please this time if you hate my writing, try to be nicer about it. I hope that this fic will make amends, I really don't like being hated.

--

Past Lives Past Mistakes Book 2

* * *

"I'm sorry kid"

"Forget about it" Naruto shrugged off the older mans concern carelessly, in layman's terms Naruto was pissed, this man was supposed to be his guardian, he was supposed to look after him and instead of doing that he was dumping him in a boarding school. Sure it was a good boarding school, Britain's best, people were sent from all around the world to this place. It didn't make it any easier, he didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back in London where his friends were, where his life was.

Exactly one month ago his parents had gone missing, their light aircraft had disappeared over a rainforest and though the craft had not been found they had legally been officially declared dead by law and he was now in his godfathers care. The guy was rich enough to keep Naruto in the wealth he was accustomed to but his constant trips for research made it impossible for him to stay in one place. Jiraiya was the foremost researcher on amphibious lifecycles, primarily toads. Most people were surprised that a researcher could make so much money but Naruto knew what he did on the side, he knew that his godfather wrote some books of lesser academic nature and that that was where his real money came from.

Naruto grinned to himself, he had a personal supply of Jiraiya's books hidden at the bottom of his case, they were surprisingly good. When he read the books he had to suppress the knowledge that they were written by his godfather in order to fully enjoy them.

The older man pushed him forwards as they walked across the car park towards the front door, Naruto dragged out his steps making damn sure that he inconvenienced his guardian as much as possible. It just wasn't fair, he was old enough to look after himself really, why couldn't the old man have just let him live alone? He was 16 for chrissakes, he wasn't a baby. He'd have to do all he could to get into trouble and maybe get chucked out of this damn school then Jiraiya would have to let him move home, he still had the house.

"I know this isn't what you wanted" Jiraiya tried to speak again

"Damn right it isn't what I wanted" Naruto agreed glaring at the man, they were at the door, any second now Naruto would have to go in and face his new crappy life "But then I guess what I really want is my parents back, or maybe a better guardian, hell even that paedo would probably take care of me better"

"Don't call him that" Jiraiya admonished "he's the guy your father picked to help run the company, just because he's a little odd"

"A little? He goes to beauty pageants!"

"There's nothing wrong with that!"

"They're 'little miss beauty pageants! For Kids!" they both paused cringing, then seeing each others expressions began to laugh

"Don't hate me for this, it's not like I'm deserting you Tsunade runs this place! You like Tsunade… I know it's rough" Jiraiya begged "the research I've set up for this year is completely new, the toads that I'm researching have a remarkable ability to… Stop that!" As Jiraiya spoke about his work Naruto had slowly tilted his head to one side before closing his eyes and feigning sleep "Just because you think it's unimportant"

"It is unimportant, now if you could find a toad that could end war, or feed thousands and maybe even cure cancer then I'll care"

"Actually many people believe that extensive research into animals and their illnesses has a direct link to…I said stop it!" again Naruto had his eyes closed and was leaning to one side.

Grinning teasingly Naruto opened his eyes and grinned "I'm sorry but you've got to realise that I can find particles of dust bigger than the interest I have in your work with toads. I mean come on, when will it be of any use to me?"

"It might come up on University challenge one day"

"Yeah but I won't!"

"After a couple of years in this place you'll be able to write the questions for University challenge" So saying the older man opened the front doors and led his charge inside.

--

"Why didn't you eat your sandwiches?"

"I don't like them"

Hinata sighed as she stared her younger sister down, she was such a fussy eater! Was she this bad as a kid? "You like peanut butter Hanabi." The younger girl pouted obstinately.

"Not crunchy, that's crunchy!"

"What's the difference?" Hinata asked unable to believe her younger sisters fussy eating habits.

"It tastes bad" Hanabi's voice had an unmistakeable whine to it as she crossed her arms.

Hinata gave another sigh and gave up. "Fine" she agreed "but I have to work tonight, if I can't pick up the peanut butter you like what will you have tomorrow?"

Hanabi frowned thinking hard, Hinata grinned, this was the most worrying thing that 10 year old Hanabi had on her mind right now. When Hinata had been her age she had been helping to raise her little sister and watching as her father sunk deeper and deeper into depression, by the time Hinata reached the age of 15 Hyuga Hiashi had given up, they all lived solely on benefits and whatever money Hinata could raise working part time at the nearby boarding school. Hinata made it her mission to keep her sister cheerful and did all she could to make up for the fact that she had no mother and only half of a father "I want Jam"

"Strawberry?"

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"Yes please" the young girl amended with a smile. "Now lets go!"

"Alright" Hinata pulled her coat on "Strawberry it is… are you still going to do your homework at Jackie's when you go to dinner tonight?" she picked up Hanabi's coat and helped the girl pull it over her shoulders

"I think so" Hanabi agreed "We just have to write about Goodbye Mr. Tom tonight"

"Well where's your homework bag?" immediately the little girl looked embarrassed and turned to run upstairs. Hinata shook her head knowingly before walking into the sitting room "We're going out now father" the dark haired man just sat in the chair saying nothing, Hinata was never sure if she preferred his bouts of depressed silence or his bursts of anger where he'd tell her how useless she was. The silence was peaceful worried her but the anger told her he at least cared about something but caused her to feel sorrowful. "There's a chicken salad in the fridge." Wishing that she could get a response Hinata dropped a kiss onto her fathers head and left the room "Come on Hanabi I'm going to be late!"

"Coming" her younger sister ran down the stairs with a bag trailing off her arm "I had to find my Winx DVD, we're going to watch it" Hinata was about to say something but Hanabi cut in before she could "After we've done our homework"

"Alright, say goodbye to dad"

"Bye Daddy" Hanabi called running in to hug her father before coming out to join Hinata again. The two of them chatted about school as they walked Hinata pulling her bicycle along with her, Hanabi wanted to join the school choir, it didn't cost anything but would occasionally mean she needed to be picked up late from school. Hinata would need to talk with some of the other mothers about it, arriving at Hanabi's friend's front door Hinata wasn't surprised that the door opened before they rang the bell

"Hello Hinata, hello Hanabi" Mrs Bell smiled at the two girls as they walked up to the door "Jackie's waiting for you upstairs, remember…"

"Homework first! I know" Hanabi kissed her sister on the cheek and then pelted up the stairs calling her friend's name as she went.

The older woman smiled kindly down at Hinata "What time are you back tonight?"

Hinata remembered a time when she had been apologetic about leaving her sister with their neighbour every night but she was always so kind about it that the embarrassment she might have felt had long ago faded "I'll be picking her up at about nine."

"Ok, be careful though, it's getting very dark very early at the moment"

"I will, thanks Mrs Bell" Hinata smiled gratefully at the woman before turning around and leading her bike down the path. Upstairs at a window she could see Hanabi looking down to wave at her, she waved back and then began to cycle away, she'd make it to Gilded Leaf just in time for her shift.

--

Nine caravans were positioned in a circle around a small bonfire, the owners of the caravans sat around the fire. Their families had been singing and playing around the fire before darkness had fallen completely but as the night continued everyone had gone to their beds and left the elders of the encampment sitting together. These Nine were leaders of nine separate tribes that moved together, once their communities had been joined but as the communities had grown they had separated branching off into different tribes and travelling the country separately. They were in no way native to the country they now existed in, they had only been living here for over ninety years, the leader had been part of the original group that settled here, he had been the first to be born after their arrival and had been named accordingly

Riku looked around at the men and women before him and then began to speak "I want to thank you all for coming here tonight" his frail voice didn't travel very well but all the people around him had excellent hearing so none of them would miss his words "I do not normally call the elders of the nine tribes together but I, as I'm sure you all will understand and expect, have felt the presence of the two"

There was a wave of some triumphant, some disbelieving murmurs around the circle.

"It was foretold at my birth that the two would come during my lifetime, it was also foretold that I would see my own end come when I met them. For a long time I lived in fear of meeting them but now I am reaching the end of my days, it will be good to know the date a little better" there were nods and polite chuckles following this statement and he smiled in acceptance before becoming firm and deliberate "You young ones" he said this with trace of mockery even though the people he was talking to were aged between sixty and eighty "You will be the ones to guide the two, you will be the ones to lead them into the light and help them to achieve their destiny" he gave a wheezing cough as he spoke, his distress was clear on his face "I will not" another wheezing cough "I will **not** allow you to fail, let it be known that Yui has prepared for this" he could see the surprise on their faces "Yui will ensure your success"

"We will not fail you" the man next to him argued

"Naoki be silent" Riku commanded "you are not the leader yet" his breathing was heavy

"There have been better, stronger times for the two, times when they were more likely to make it, it has been said…" he wheezed and coughed again "It has been said that this time the Warrior Prince has no strength, no fighting skills, no way to stop the Monarch when he comes for him."

"How sure are we that the two have returned?" the eldest of the tribe's leaders questioned

"As sure as we can be, the likelihood of us finding the Warrior Prince or the Chosen one has always been very unlikely, however" Nahiko held up the paper he had been reading showing everyone the front page, there was a large colour picture of the Namikaze couple on the front and a headline proclaiming them officially dead. "He is too like the warrior Prince for it to be coincidence and the names correspond with the past."

"We know nothing of the chosen one"

"I know, but we must make contact with the warrior Prince if we can, it says here that he's headed to Gilded Leaf private academy."

"Very well, give orders to pack up, we leave tomorrow."

--

Wearing a deep purple t-shirt and black apron Hinata was easily distinguishable as a member of staff and not a student, it wasn't a difficult job to do and it was pretty much the only job she could do. Most shops closed too early in the evening for her to work at them and no bar would employ a fifteen year old. And actually most of the staff were nice, she met very few students as she was kept in the kitchens doing washing up almost every evening, sometimes the cry of 'SERVERS' would mean that she had to run and help clear food and plates but it was rare that it would happen.

As it was today her dishpan hands were saved when the housekeeping staff needed someone to help set up a new student in his room. She had helped the

housekeeping staff many times during the summer holidays and had immediately offered to help. So here she was walking through the hallowed corridors of one of Britain's best schools with an armful of sheets. she sighed as she walked, if she could she'd love to be able to afford to come here, both she and Hanabi were smart enough to be here. Hinata was a straight A student and considering what she did with all her spare time it surprised herself never mind her teachers.

"This room is tiny" the complaining voice really travelled down the corridors surprising Hinata

"Shut up Brat" Hinata froze in place, she knew that voice, it was Tsunade's voice, the blonde that owned and ran this school was one of the most terrifying women that she had ever met. She could hear her yelling at whoever was in the room and was surprised to hear the male voice answering back in a bored tone. Breathing hard Hinata geared herself up to speak with her boss when the woman herself came flying out of the room "I'm going to my office… you!" her attention was suddenly on Hinata now and the young girl jumped nervously her eyes wide and fearful.

"Y-yes ma'am?"

"Are those to go in there?"

Trying to hide behind the sheets and towels she carried Hinata nodded "Y-yes ma'am"

"Alright in you go. Naruto I will be back in one hour exactly. Your attitude had better have improved by the time I get back." The impressive blonde's long cream coat swirled behind her as she stalked away. Hinata walked nervously towards the door of the bedroom, she tapped nervously on the doorframe even though she could already see into the room where a handsome young man was relaxing on the bed.

"Just come in" Naruto spoke scathingly as he sat up, upon seeing the young lady in the doorway his expression changed completely "Hello!"

"I've brought the sheets and towels, I'm supposed to show you how to make the beds"

"So you're a maid?" he asked grinning happily, things were starting to look up, maybe he'd rethink his plan on him getting thrown out of the school. Then again being cruel to her would be a good way to start, Tsunade wouldn't want to

She could feel herself getting annoyed but forced herself to answer very calmly "I work here, I work in the kitchen"

"So a scullery maid?" he was ready to tease her for as long as it took to get a reaction, luckily he got it pretty quickly, the girl turned around her eyes blazing with anger

"Look I don't give a damn who you are or who your parents are, you have no right to talk to me like that"

"Your right" he acknowledged "Your not a maid… you're wearing the wrong outfit" she frowned confused by his words "Though you'd probably look even better in a maids outfit" Naruto told Hinata with a snide look "You know, kinky! And as for who my parents they're bound to be a lot better than yours considering the fact you're working here."

He expected another blow up from her but instead noticed that her eyes had filled with tears, instead of speaking she merely dumped the towels and sheets on the mattress of his bed and walked out of the room. He was surprised, she'd seemed kind of feisty when he'd first had a go at her he hadn't expected her to get all upset like that…

And now he had to make his bed all by himself. Damn it!

"That has to be the worst made bed I've ever seen" Tsunade stated when she re-entered the room "Did you make it and then have a dog run around under the sheets?"

"No" Naruto shook his head frustrated, who knew making your own bed could be so hard?

"Where did miss Hyuga go?"

"Nowhere" Naruto kept his gaze on the floor knowing that she'd have a go at him if she knew what he said, he also knew that it would then get back to Jiraiya as Tsunade would ultimately blame his guardian for his behaviour.

"Were you mean to her?" Tsunade was incredibly suspicious, the young man in front of her, it was easy to tell when he had done something wrong.

Sounding defensive he tried to look innocent as he answered "No"

"Naruto" Tsunade gave him a hard look

"I just teased her a little"

"Well that was very wrong of you, look I know you're annoyed to be here but don't take it out on some poor girl who has a very hard life."

"Hard life?"

"Yes, there is no excuse for being cruel to anyone but with her it makes it doubly worse. I expect you to apologise to her, write a letter, I'll pick it up form you later… and remake your bed"

--

"Is everything OK?" Hanabi asked as Hinata led her home, her older sister was a lot more quiet than normal and she hadn't even asked her if she had done her homework yet.

"Hm?" Hinata glanced towards her sister a glazed look in her eyes, seeing her sister's worried expression Hinata shook her head and smile ""Sorry I didn't sleep well last night so I'm just tired" she faked a small yawn that apparently satisfied Hanabi as the cloud left her brow and she smiled up at her

"Then you'll have to go straight to bed when we get in!" Hanabi told her seriously

"Yes miss" Hinata teased with a grin "but the same goes for you young lady"

"I know" Hanabi nodded agreeably. When they got in both girls changed for bed but although Hanabi did go straight there Hinata had other things to do, her father had eaten half of his meal so there was washing up to do and then she would have to make Hanabi's lunch for the next day and get her P.E kit ready. She tried not to sigh heavily as she completed her tasks and then sat down to her own homework. Placing her papers ready Hinata switched the TV on to the news, she watched it giving the whole thing very little attention until a picture caught her attention.

"Minato and Kushina Namikaze's deaths gave full control of the company to their son Naruto Namikaze" the picture of the family on screen was a professional portrait obviously from a few years ago "Since then the business has been run by their trusted associate Orochimaru ????, he has led the company through the recent market drop making the difficult decisions for Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze who is unable to at this young age. So far over 400 hundred jobs have been cut and more losses are expected in the near future." Hinata stared at the screen in surprise, she never really paid much attention to the news preferring to let it run on the TV looking up when se heard something that interested her, Naruto's parents were dead? Was that why he was at the school? Picking up her pen Hinata wrote down Naruto's name and his parents names deciding to Google them when she got to school.

--

Naruto was walking down the corridors determined to be miserable, all the other guys here were idiots... Ok maybe not all of them but most of them. He was really annoyed at how some of them behaved. A group of twelve had been bragging about their latest weekend out, apparently they had been picked up by a large Taxi on the Friday night and demanded to be taken to London and all around the various clubs before putting up at a hotel with whoever they had picked up that night. It was all so tawdry, still he had to admit that a few of the guys were alright, some of them were like him and had some human decency... he trailed off remembering what eh had said to that poor girl last night.

Ah, shit. He was almost as bad as the others, he didn't really know why he'd spoken to her like that, he'd not meant to, he'd just been angry... he was a jerk, that was for sure, he didn't entirely get why he had said what he had. Ok the part about her in a maids outfit, he grinned to himself, that was kind of true, but he still shouldn't have treated her like that. He had just been so mad, he wanted to get into trouble, he wanted to cause trouble and maybe get thrown out of the school… he wasn't sure what Tsunade had meant about Hinata being different and having a hard life but he did feel bad for adding to her troubles.

He began to actively search for her, she was his age so she probably only worked evenings, he looked around trying to find housekeeping staff but it was no good, there were none around, of course that made sense, why change the beds on a Wednesday, it would make more sense to do it at the weekend when no one was around. He walked down into the cafeteria where the staff were still clearing up from the evening meal, he carried on walking until he reached the kitchens, he could hear laughing and talking behind the doors, he didn't see how he could get by unnoticed by the others, he was fighting a losing battle here.. the doors to the kitchen swung open hitting him in the face

"Oh my Lord!" one of the cooks dropped the tray she was holding running to his side "You're bleeding"

The door had smashed his nose and blood was currently spurting through his nostrils and running down his shirt.

"What happened... oh" the voice was familiar, looking up Naruto could see the girl he had insulted last night looking at him with shock, her pale eyes widened in surprise until finally a shout from the kitchen made her shake her head. "I'll take him to the nurses office, it's no big deal… come on" helping Naruto to his feet Hinata pressed a tea towel to his nose and they walked together along the corridor.

"Did you get by node?" Naruto asked sounding as though he had a really bad cold

"Yes I got your note… thank you for the apology and… I offer one of my own, I shouldn't have mentioned your parents it was… insensitive of me."

"I duess we both should know not to bention parents id ad idsult"

"And yet we both did… real smooth… why did you come to the kitchens?"

"Even though I wrote the node, I cabe to say that I was sorry I was cruel to you the other day"

"That's alright, I know you're going through a tough time right now"

Under the tea towel Naruto smirked at her "Look if you think dat I was rude to you just because I'b grieving or sobething…"

"I don't think that" Hinata replied holding up one hand "Look… cards on the table. My mother died when I was nine, my father's still alive but… well, lets just say that his personality died with her, all he does is sit on the couch all day." She chuckled sardonically before continuing "I just wanted to say that I know some of your pain and if you ever need to talk, even though I'm just a maid, I'm around." She smiled shyly at him, unable to stop himself Naruto smiled back "But understand that just because socially I'm below you, intellectually I'm probably a heck of a lot higher up."

He decided not to bring up the fact that he always got straight A's and had never yet failed an exam, he smirked at her she looked sincere and her sense of humour was similar to his Ah what the hell! He might as well take her up on her friendship, she was incredibly hot, definitely the best looking girl he'd seen so far "Thanks… I'b sorry about what I said…" he could see her blushing a little and stopped walking to look at her properly, she stopped with him a curious look on her face "I won't take it back cos it's probably true, but" her blush increased "but I ab sorry if I upset you. Forgiven?" he asked holding out a hand.

With a small sigh Hinata nodded and grasped his warm hand "Forgiven…" she led him to the nurses office and left him outside the door. "I'll leave you now, I gotta get back to work" Hinata smiled and walked away, she was walking down the corridor and could fell his eyes still on her, turning quickly she could clearly see which part of her anatomy he had been admiring "And stop looking at my ass! Ass!" after that insult she was spinning around again, she walked away smiling shyly, it was nice to have a friend, even if he was an idiot.

--

"Sir!" the shout grabbed everyone attention as one of the diggers jumped from his trench and began to run to his boss, the bespectacled man stood making no move towards the excited man, he just waited for the man to come to him.

"What have you there Kitano?" the voice was bored but it didn't put the worker off

"See here sir" he held out a small metal weapon, the dig leader took it from him and turned it over in his hands.

The blade was not long and had no handle other than a small circle at the head. Testing the weight in his hands he could feel how balanced and well made it was. The metal was discoloured now but it was clear that it would have been made of steel "This is good" he muttered unenthusiastically "You are in the right area, continue"

"Yes sir" the archaeologist bowed before turning and running back to his trench.

Holding the discoloured weapon in his hand the man smiled "Not long now" turning he began to walk towards his tent "Not long at all."

* * *

Please R&R, This fic seems to be turning into one of those High school fic that I'm not really comfortable with writing but don't worry, this is just to set the scene and get the two of them to meet up, after this the fic will move away from school stuff and don't hate me, constructive criticism please.


	21. A blossoming friendship

Wow I've been gone a long time, sorry about that but things have been rough, I only meant to be away for a week and time just slipped by. If it hadn't been for a review on one of my other stories I'd still be gone. I'll try and update again at the end of next week but I've got a lot of reading to catch up on as well as writing.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Sitting in the schools TV room Naruto sighed and ate another handful of crisps, the news was dull these days, as far as he was concerned the world would never change, there would always be some war or struggle going on, famine and disease were pretty much a constant and natural disasters were so common he was beginning to buy into all this global warming stuff. Finally the news started to talk about business and he sat up and paid proper attention, it started off with information about the FTSE and he nodded knowingly, then market prices were announced with the big changes making the news first And the less important ones following finally market trends were talked about. His eyes searched for news of Namikaze Inc but he saw nothing. All he could conclude was that no news was good news and he turned way disconsolately.

His father's business had always meant a lot to Naruto, it was a privately owned family business and it had always been known that one day he would own it. He had never really looked forward to that day much because he had known that when that day finally came it would mean one of two things. Either his father was dead or he was no longer of sound mind and Naruto had to take control by force. Neither of these options had pleased him much but he had to admit that now the day had come he'd have preferred to still have his father around whether he was of sound mind or not.

He had not expected himself to be in the news again, he'd shown up a couple of times recently but his parents plane crash was old news. No one expected for the two of them to be seen again but Naruto still clung to that little forlorn hope that maybe they were still ok, maybe they were still out there and they'd find their way back. It was stupid, people went missing in the real world and most of them were dead within twenty four hours, his parents were in the middle of a rainforest after a plane crash with little or no survival skills, the odds were completely stacked against them.

As he thought about it all his mind drifted to Hinata, from what she said it seemed as though her father was no longer of sound mind, he briefly wondered whether or not she'd prefer her father dead or like he was now… it was a pointless thing to think about, he knew he'd never get an answer because it was a horrible question to ask someone.

"Hey Naruto" someone plopped down on the seat next to him and grinned "what happened to you?" he asked staring at his eye and nose.

"You should see the other guy" Naruto joked back receiving a laugh, he grinned and offered a crisp to his companion. He liked Michael, the guy was very like him, honest and cheerful unlike some of the other snobby brats around here.

The dark haired boy took some of the snack and shoved it in his mouth before asking "Seriously, where'd you get that shiner?"

"I walked into a door" this received the explosion of laughter that Naruto had expected and he was rather pleased that Michael then began to choke on his crisps. "Yeah real funny, laugh it up!" he said whacking him on the back

"Oh come on man, that is hilarious, you managed to get through rugby the other day with barely a smudge of dirt on you and then you walk into a door. Classic!"

"Yeah, Yeah"

"You doing anything this weekend?"

"Not really" Naruto hadn't given the weekend much thought at all, he couldn't really be bothered to do anything but he wondered what Hinata would be doing, if there was a way he could meet up with her, he'd really like to spend time with her...

"Naruto would you listen to me?"

"Sorry what?" Naruto had totally tuned his friend out as he spoke

"I said on Sunday a couple of us are part of this Tae Kwon Do group, you want to come?"

"Who else is in it?" Naruto asked interested in the idea

"Angus and Brian."

"Yeah alright then" Naruto nodded in agreement "Could be fun... hey what time is it?"

"Now? Seven why?"

"I gotta go" Naruto jumped to his feet throwing Michael his snack, he ignored the other boys questions and left the room. He had no actual idea what time Hinata left work but last time he saw her working the time was about this time and she was pretty ensconced in work. If he hung around the kitchens for long enough he was bound to see her, he ran a hand though his hair trying to make it look better as he went. He had to wait a long time, and he wondered if he'd missed her when he made a quick trip to the bathroom. It was getting later and later and he was sure that it couldn't be good for Hinata to work this long. Finally the doors opened and a group of older ladies walked out talking and laughing, they all wore the same black and purple outfit as Hinata had but as he scanned the group he couldn't see her. He frowned as they all left and the kitchen descended into darkness, he felt disappointed and was about to walk away when the sound of a door closing echoed through the empty hallway. Turing he grinned when he saw the very person he was looking for walking into the corridor, she wore a light blue top instead of purple but it was her.

"Hey! Hinata!"the voice echoed through the hallways surprising Hinata, turning she saw a young man dressed in jeans and t-shirt, he'd obviously come here to see her, his blonde hair had some semblance of neatness in it's gelled form but she preferred it the way it had been before, more wild and spiky.

"Hey" feeling shy Hinata raised her hand in greeting, she immediately hated how she herself looked, her t-shirt was damp from washing up water and the heat of the kitchen meant her face was probably flushed and that she now felt disgusting. "How's things?"

"Things are good… I'm still getting used to this place but I'm settling in. How are you?" when he got closer she could see the bruising on the bridge of his nose that spread to surround his eye.

"Same as ever… does your nose still hurt?"

"Nah, I've had worse"

"Really, do you normally take on revolving doors?" she asked a teasing smile on her lips

He laughed appreciatively before shaking his head "No… I've played some rugby in my time, ended up with a broken leg and ribs, fractured wrist many pulled muscles that sort of thing"

"Sounds like a dangerous sport"

"You should see me fence"

"Are you showing off?" she asked amused by his boasting

"Maybe" he laughed as she shook her head disapprovingly "Ok definitely. I've been waiting here for ages, do you always leave here so late?" he was surprised, it was dark out and he didn't like the idea of Hinata travelling home so late.

"Not normally, we had tragedy in the kitchens, one of the chefs knocked custard on the floor, it took forever to clear up."

"We didn't have custard tonight"

"No, because of the great spillage of 2010! This is a day for history books." Hinata chuckled happily "At least I'm not the one to blame, I always feel bad when I make mistakes here" he seemed confused so she explained "Dad's benefits are quite… low. I was given this job as a favour, a way to make sure that Hanabi and I could have some of the better things in life, so I could make sure she got nicer clothes… half the stuff still comes from charity shops but she gets birthday and Christmas presents just like everyone else. That's what I want for her."

"Your sister means a lot to you"

Hinata nodded "She's pretty much all I've got"

"Where is she whilst you're here?"

"Our neighbour looks after her, it's a good thing Hanabi and our neighbours daughter are best friends. The only day we had an issue was when they fell out over some boy, I guess to a normal nine year old crushes can be the most important thing in the world"

"You talk as though you were never a nine year old"

"I was never a normal one. Mum was ill at that point, she never recovered after Hanabi's birth so she and dad spent a lot of time at the hospital and I was helping out with Hanabi."

"When you were nine?"

"From the age of five through to ten I spent all my time helping mum, then from the age of…" Hinata trailed off nervously "Why am I even telling you this" she shook her head in a confused fashion "I only met you two days ago and already I'm pouring my heart out like you charge fifty quid an hour." Waving her hands in the air Hinata turned away and began to walk away leaving a stunned Naruto.

"Hey wait up!" Naruto ran to catch up with her grabbing her arm and stopping her "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She stared at him in complete confusion "What is wrong Naruto, is that I have never spoken to anyone about this stuff before. Why do I trust you with it?"

His hold slackened as he stared at her "You've never talked to anyone about this? What about your friends, or family?"

"I don't really have any, my family are far away and I lost all my friends. I don't have time for them."

"You don't have time for friends?"

She laughed cynically "I work here every week night, I spend my weekends with my sister, look after my father, do all the chores I can fit in, I do my homework whenever I can and that's usually at school during lunch break. I can't fit a social life in, the closest things I have to friends are the ladies here and they're all at least twice my age some are three."

Naruto was surprised, Tsunade had said that Hinata had it tough but he never imagined that it was so bad "So when was the last time you hung out with someone just for fun?"

"Besides my sister? I dunno, I'm not sure if I even can anymore" Hinata smiled half heartedly "At least it saved me from being shallow, the way I was when I was five… lets just say I would probably have been shallow if things were different."

Finding it hard to believe Naruto shook his head, he couldn't see Hinata as shallow "I doubt it somehow… so what are you and your sister doing this weekend?"

Surprised by the question Hinata gave him an odd look before answering "On Saturday my sister and I are going hiking, she's really interested in historic sites, I think she's just watched too many Indiana Jones movies, so we're going up the Tor."

Trying to remember what he'd read about the surrounding area Naruto frowned before asking. "The one near the well?"

"That's the one"

"So if I was to hang around there on Saturday I could maybe join you?"

"I guess… but don't you have other people to hang around with?"

"Yeah… but I'd like to see you"

"Ok" Hinata nodded shyly and began to walk away again as she got to the end of the corridor a thought occurred to her and she turned back "We'll be using the well entrance, w-we'll start at around ten."

"Alright" he grinned as she flushed lightly and then walked away, man he was stuck on her fast!

--

"She made us do a cross country run again, we did one last week and it's not fair because the other class only have one every month or every other month. I hate it…"

"Hanabi…" Hinata interrupted her sister's rant before it got any longer "Would you be alright if someone joined us on Saturday?"

"Saturday?" Hanabi asked suspiciously "will we still be having my favourite sandwiches?"

Hinata laughed at the easy question "Yes"

"And we'll be going up the Tor?"

"Yes"

"And we get to go for ice cream afterwards?"

"Yes… no!" Hinata laughed and shook her head "You only get ice cream on special occasions, if you behave I'll get you a dairy milk."

"Alright…" Hanabi agreed, then she noticed her sisters flushed face and smiling evilly asked "so who's coming with us?"

Her blush deepened as Hinata replied "Just someone from work"

Seeing the blush on her sisters face Hanabi's suspicion increased and she pulled on her sister's arm "What's his name?"

"What makes you think it's a boy?" Hinata asked surprised and feigning innocence

"So it's a girl?"

"I didn't say that" seeing her sisters smirk Hinata shook her head "Fine, it's a boy he actually goes to the school."

"Ooh, dating a student, isn't there a rule against that?"

"I don't think so" Hinata paused frowning, she had never really looked at her handbook about that kind of thing, she had never thought she'd associate with any of the boys at the school, she knew that for the teachers there were rules but she wasn't sure… "Wait! It's n-not a d-date" she finally spluttered out in her defence

"Strange that you didn't say that straight away when I mentioned dating" the younger sister teased dancing ahead of her sister carefully avoiding the hand swiping at her head.

"Shut up" Hinata hissed chasing after her, the two of them ran giggling to their front door, they paused on the threshold calming down before Hinata unlocked the door and they went in. The house was silent when they entered, the usually constant noise from the television was gone and unseen by Hanabi a worried look covered Hinata's face. She allowed Hanabi to run into the kitchen and then made her way into the sitting room, her father was not there. Running out of the room and up the stairs Hinata let out a relieved sigh as she heard the shower running, she wasn't sure why she'd panicked so much when she hadn't been able to find him but it was the absence of normality that had made her suddenly afraid. Her daily pattern had been disrupted by the fact that her father had managed to pull himself out of his armchair earlier than usual and the realisation made her eyes fill with tears. Why had she become the parent in this family? It was so unfair, just the couple of times she had spoken with Naruto had made her realise how much she really craved a social life of her own.

"Hinata?" the call from down stairs made Hinata sniff and scrub at her eyes.

"On my way" she responded pasting on a false smile and heading back downstairs "Dad's in the bathroom so you'll have to brush your teeth in the morning."

"EW!"

--

Leaning back in his chair Orochimaru frowned at his computer screen, he had expected to hear something more about the Namikaze's fate by this time. In all honesty when he had heard that the family were taking a trip in their plane he had expected them all to be there, unfortunately for some reason the young man had changed his mind at the last minute and he remained at home instead of being with his parents when they plunged down over the forest. That was another problem with his plan, the intention had been for the craft to land in the ocean where it would never survive and any proof of foul play would be washed away. instead it had landed somewhere where if discovered things could go badly wrong… still. As it was Naruto was to young to even want to take control of the company yet, he had convinced the young man to let him handle things until he had gone through university… and if he still seemed likely to take the company from Orochimaru well, all sorts of terrible things happened at universities, a drunken night out could end in death and then Orochimaru would be exactly where he needed to be.

It was a shame that Minato had never taken a backseat in the company, had he stepped away from his business and allowed Orochimaru to run it exactly as he wanted to then the young man would still be able to see his son grow up. Unfortunately Minato had never done so and he had taken such an active interest in the Orochimaru's departments that he had come close to uncover the creative accounting his second in command had been doing.

Still as the annoyingly optimistic old saying went, _where one door opens another one opens_. Now instead of just doing a little bit of 'skimming' from his own half of the accounts he had a whole company to try it out on.

Maybe he'd be lucky and the plane would never be found, it could have burned up. With these pleasant meditations Orochimaru's face brightened and he turned back to his computer with a grin.

--

Another disappointment!

Gripping his fist around the aged paper scroll Kabuto made a sound of annoyance, the scroll in his hand had been just as useless as all the others. This was the third sealing scroll he had discovered and just as all the others it was worthless… well in terms of monetary worth it was an amazing discovery that museums would bid huge sums for but in terms of his own purposes it was completely worthless.

He had known what his destiny was ever since he was a young boy, his parents had raised him to think only of the Great Monarch and his rise to power aided by the young Kabuto. They had lived as part of a village all of whom followed the cult since before he was born, both his parents had been raised to call the Great Monarch their future. As a child he had been treated differently, his name was a common one amongst his peers but according to the leader of his village he had been born under the chosen star and his future was bright. His teenage years had been filled with study dedicated to his future, he had no time for friends as the others in his village had but at the same time he knew this was a good thing. One day he would stand beside the great monarch as he rose to take over the world and he would need complete respect from his peers and the only way to have that was to be completely above them.

His research had led him to discover the legend of the seven sealing scrolls taken out of the village after the Arrogant Prince had died the last time. Kabuto had used many methods to track down where the scrolls could have gone, every single lead he had came from legend and hearsay but the arrogant Prince and his cronies had destroyed all traces of their very existence from the history books so ninja's and chakra were rarely considered to be fact. The very lifestyle the arrogant Prince was supposed to have led had apparently never existed. Luckily for Kabuto his past self had managed to escape the purge before it was too late. He had left the Great Monarchs side when he realised that there was no way to help him in the current lifetime and had taken the few followers brave enough to remain and started a new life. They had continued the stories, they had passed down the legends to all of society not caring how they were mocked and rejoicing in the followers that came to them.

"Sir?" the voice pulled him from his misery and he turned to face his assistant, he said nothing merely raising an eyebrow in inquiry "We have dug the site over, there are no more scrolls, we did however find this" lifting a hand up the assistant held out a dull piece of metal that had obviously only been recently unearthed and quickly cleaned off. Moving forward Kabuto stared at it the metal piece, in the centre there was an embossed symbol that he recognised with ease. "It was placed by two bodies that we found."

Grinning Kabuto reached forward and took the piece. "Get back to work" he commanded not looking at his assistant again, the man bowed and left, he was used to such terse dismissal from his boss and any impatience he may feel from getting commands from a man ten years his junior were allayed by his knowledge that this young man was the Oracle.

Tracing over the odd swirling symbol that ended in a point Kabuto smiled, he knew the symbol well he had seen it many times over the years. In the last Kabuto's writings and instructions it had been a common theme, a leaf symbol.

Konoha village, looking around himself he wondered how any of the teams that had been sent out with a scroll had come so far, whoever it was they were dedicated to getting the scroll as far from their home town as possible. Leaving his tent Kabuto made his way down to the site, asking for directions he soon found the digs foreman.

"The bodies, what do we know?"

The foreman was surprised, unless the artefacts fund were scrolls the man funding the dig did not normally care about anything they unearthed.

"A man and woman, hard to tell much about them but based on the teeth we figure they were in their later years, I'd estimate 60's maybe 70's"

"I see" Kabuto nodded, if these two were indeed leaf shinobi it might make sense for them to have travelled for the rest of their lives with these scrolls burying them near to where they themselves would be laid to rest.

"Will we be moving on again soon?" the foreman asked feeling disappointed when he guessed the answer.

"We will, I have information on another location for the scrolls" Kabuto knew that the archaeologists would prefer to remain where they were and keep digging but despite the money he had at his disposal he never had enough to keep more than one dig going at a time, besides he'd tried all the furthest locations, now it was time to move in closer to where the village of Konoha had been located, according to the mission records the last Kabuto had added to his notes the other scroll bearers had never seemed to make it more than five or six days away from the village. They would be closer to that accursed village that had been his downfall previously. "Get your team packed up, in three days we travel to Japan."

--

The feeling of unease was spreading.

The first people to show signs of disquiet had been the leaders at the first meeting for the elders. After that it had spread to their various spouses, heirs and advisors, soon after the rest of the camp picked up on the worry and even the children had become nervous. By the time they had arrived at their destination everyone knew that there was something to be worried about. Still they had all grouped together in a forest close to the school the Warrior Prince was now attending; they had found a clearing within the forest that gave them easy access to the nearby town and a water supply. Once they had settled they tried to carry on as normal, setting up cooking areas, placing their caravans at good distances from each other and beginning their usual lifestyles.

Riku looked around at the caravans and tents that had slowly built up around them, pretty soon all of their supporters and relatives would be around them and he could see where various groups had set up their schools and training areas. It was getting late now and the trainers were sending their pupils home, Riku enjoyed watching the training, he had once been a teacher himself and he, like the instructors, could pick out a promising young fighter within a few minutes of watching them spar. He hadn't taught a group since he became leader of his encampment but he had one student and she was sitting next to him reading from one of his scrolls.

The dark haired, dark witted, Mayu was his protégé, as granddaughter to his brother she was the closest thing he had to a child himself and the only one of his relatives that he felt deserved to be taught in the ways of the warrior. She had shown more promise than any other student of her age and showed more loyalty than any student of any age. At this moment she was reading about the astrology that had led to the naming of Riku as 'the seer' that would meet the Warrior Prince and the Chosen One on his dying day. Everything that ever had been read in the stars would be noted in the village scrolls and the scrolls were never disposed of. Currently Mayu held over 100 years worth of astrology readings in her hands.

"We ought to back all this up" Mayu said turning to look at Riku

"We have another copy of the scroll in a safe place" Riku informed her.

"No I mean on a computer, what we ought to do is put all this into a database so that it is easier to find"

"Easier to find? It is very simple to find what I need in these scrolls."

"But it takes years to read the whole thing, how can you call that simple?"

"Tell me a year" Riku said taking the scroll form her and winding it shut

"1929"

Riku nodded, and opened up the scroll winding it carefully for a few moments and then stopping "1929" he showed her the part smiling

"That's easy though, it's all in date order"

"Then tell me something else to look for"

Mayu frowned thinking through what she had learnt over the last few weeks and then looked up smiling "there was a child at whose birth it was said 'this child shall be raised up amongst their peers but shall never know of it' find that"

"Male or female?" Riku asked with a smile

"Uh… male. I think"

"Well either way" Riku slowly unfurled the scroll and paused "Here is the case for the female" he showed it to her and then carried on back quite a way until he reached the piece he searched for "and here is the males" Mayu took the scroll from him in complete disbelief "My dear girl the leader of these tribes must know it's history in such a way that you could almost quote it from memory. I used to be able to do so but I'm afraid my mind fails me sometimes. Now is that tea ready yet?"

Mayu shook her head in disbelief and poured out a glass of Mu tea "Has it never scared you?" Mayu asked her leader as she handed him his drink

"Scared me?"

"The knowledge that as soon as you see the prince your life will be over. When you finally see him it means your hours are numbered."

"It made me nervous as a young man" he responded his wrinkled face curving into a smile "When I was young I was afraid, to afraid, I missed much of my life due to that fear, let that be a warning to you, never be afraid."

"You mean Yui?" Mayu asked shyly, the older man's eyes widened but then he nodded agreeably.

"Yes Yui is part of what I missed out on" the older man looked towards the lady's caravan where Yui sat near the window writing studiously. The old woman had been a bright and vivacious girl in her youth. The two of them had grown up together, had been best friends and had almost been husband and wife but the fear had held him back, instead Yui had married another man, she had become widow after five years and been left with four children Riku had always looked after her but they never became more than friends. They were both ready to serve the Warrior Prince, he by dying and she by living on, no matter hw hard it was for both of them.

"Why does everyone fear Yui so much?" Mayu asked next her eyes watching him closely.

Riku laughed a this "Yui has skills that are unseen in most, she can heal or harm however she see's fit. She can curse an entire town to become ill, she can bring death and destruction to an entire country, she can create a plight to the fields, cause the livestock to pass away with a single chant and charm." As he spoke the woman in the caravan opposite looked over and saw them staring at her, she bowed her head respectfully and then looked back down at her work. "We are lucky that she has never had a temper, she could have destroyed this tribe many times over."

"Is it true she…"

"She has never killed anyone without my direct orders" a dark look on his face Riku spoke severely now, the rumours surrounding Yui's husbands death had been cruel and not even he knew if they were untrue. Yui had never spoken of it to him, seeing his great nieces face he smiled and patted her head softly "To bed with you, this weekend I shall take you to the Tor and instruct you in the way of seeing." Mayu nodded kissing him in the cheek she left him alone. Riku went back to staring out at the opposite window, the woman was looking back at him, the two of them stared at each other for a long time before Yui made a hand sign that Riku knew well, he returned the sign and then they both made their way into their own bunks.

"I've always loved you Yui" Riku muttered.

In her bunk Yui smiled "I love you too Riku."

* * *

Ok everyone I know many of you may have lost faith with this story but I hope those of you that are still reading it enjoy it.


	22. A meeting

In this I talk a lot about a Tor, if any of you are unsure of what a Tor is traditionally a high prominent rock, or a rocky hill. There are many of them all over England, I've kind of made Naruto and Hinata English here because you do need to write what you know sometimes. The one I have in mind here is like the Glastonbury Tor so look it up if you get confused.

Very NaruHina this chapter but not much action yet, it's gonna get more interesting in the next chapter.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

'Please like each other' Hinata pleaded silently as the two people walking in front of her stared each other down. It was a day of brilliant weather, the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze ruffling the trees and the ground was dry underfoot. All in all Hinata couldn't have picked a better day to introduce Naruto and Hanabi to each other. Of course that didn't mean it would go well.

At first glance Hanabi was very like her sister, their eyes were similar as was their colouring but the suspicious frown on Hanabi's features made her seem very severe, unlike Hinata whose face was always gentle and sweet. Or at least it seemed that way to Naruto. Both he and Hanabi were walking together in front of a very nervous Hinata, when they had fist met he could see the worry on Hinata's face. It was obviously important to Hinata that they get along so he turned to Hanabi and tentatively questioned her about school, her responses were tepid but he persevered asking about what she got up to whilst Hinata was at work every evening. He tried so hard not to seem like he was prying and in the end it seemed like it paid off as Hanabi began to talk to him without his prompting.

Determined not to back down Hanabi kept looking Naruto at suspicious frown on her face, she wasn't going to trust him straight away. He was cute, she'd give him that, she didn't think he was drop dead gorgeous but then who can compare to Hugh Dancy or Orlando Bloom? Still Hinata obviously liked him, she seemed more flustered than normal and he must like her, he was after all, spending the day with her and her sister and he had insisted on carrying all of the picnic food. When Hanabi looked back to smile at her sister she noticed that her eyes looked to be pleading with them both to like each other. Naruto had obviously picked up on it and was asking Hanabi question after question about her school and the things she liked to do. Well she finally decided, if he was willing to make the effort then she might as well try.

Hinata's sigh of relief was almost silent when Hanabi and Naruto's conversation became more animated and Naruto succeeded in making her sister laugh. She was glad that Hanabi seemed to like Naruto, he was the first friend she'd had in God knows how long and if they had hated each other she'd never have been able to hang out with him. Soon they reached the bottom of the Tor Hanabi began to run ahead leaving Naruto to pause and wait for Hinata to join him, she caught up quickly and gave him a small smile.

"You two seem to be getting along"

"She's a good kid, I can see why you're protective of her"

"She can be a real pain in the neck sometimes but…" Hinata paused looking up at where her sister had turned around to wave at them "Yeah, she's not a bad kid."

--

"So where are we going today?" Mayu asked as Riku picked up his old Haversack and walking stick. It had been a long day of sparring and training for her and the people of her own age and now it was time for her official training from the village leader.

"Today we are going to learn about seeing"

"Oh yeah?" Mayu asked following the old man as he began to walk away.

"The gift of seeing is one that our family has treasured for a long time. It is our duty to look beneath the underneath and make our decisions based on this."

"Beneath the underneath?" Mayu questioned furrowing her brow.

"Every situation, every place, every person has a deeper meaning than most will ever know. From birth in our clan we foresee what every child will become, we know which ones are to be fighters and we know which ones will be educators but we still need to know all."

"I really don't understand"

"If someone gives you a gift for your birthday you think nothing of it. Am I right?"

"Well yeah, it's just a birthday present"

"But there is a difference between… receiving a beaded necklace of neutral colours and being gifted a rare antique brooch that is particularly suited to your taste… am I right?"

"Well yes, the beaded necklace suggests they know I like jewellery but haven't put much thought into it. The brooch implies more time, effort and money. Ultimately it is a more prized gift and will be better received."

"Beneath the underneath" Riku told her with a smile "If a young man see's a placid dog and becomes afraid runs forward and kicks at it, what does it suggest?"

"That he's afraid of dogs."

"Does it?"

"Well yeah, it was a placid dog, you said so."

"What if the dog is his, and an enemy has attached something to it that will injure them both? Or maybe the dog is in danger of being put down and he wishes to save it by making it run away?"

"You didn't say that though, and those are some pretty far out ideas there."

"No, but not everything is at once obvious, the first situation was easy but the second could have so much more to it. It could just be that someone is afraid of dogs, but then what do you think of someone who fears of dogs?"

"Well it's kind of a stupid fear."

"Dogs, wolves, foxes all animals of prey, it is a totally rational fear."

"But most dogs are completely safe"

"And then there are dogs that turn on a family for seemingly no reason. Every argument you will ever make will have an opposing side that can be just as strong no matter how right you are."

"I guess" Mayu nodded beginning to understand a little more, the point of seeing had nothing to do with her vision it was all to do with viewpoints. "But surely with the prophecy's we have to follow them"

"Have you ever read Oedipus Rex?"

"No"

"The Magicians Nephew?" he tried hoping that a younger book or story might grab her attention

"I did read that one!" she agreed nodding

"In the book Cor is kidnapped as a baby by a man hoping to prevent something from happening, in sending Cor away he then brings about the very thing he was avoiding. Stories and history has always been this way, when people try to avoid their future, their fate, then they usually end up bringing it about."

"So kind of a que sara, sara thing." She asked lightly

"In a way. The most important thing to remember is that have to always put the mission ahead of the tribe" Riku told Mayu as they walked through the fields. "Prophecy can never be ignored. But at the same time it cannot be exploited."

"What if it means the people are going to be hurt?"

"Mayu every leader must make sacrifices and sometimes those sacrifices may be her family and friends, our quest is to save the world. There aren't many normal people that get this kind of power or chance to do good. Normally this only happens in those comic books you read"

"Those are Graphic Novels and Manga" Mayu argued defending her honour and making the old man laugh at her pedantic ways.

"They are still the closest most people will ever get to saving all of Humanity. You are…ah" stumbling slightly Riku suddenly clutched his chest.

"Sir?" Mayu caught Riku's arm and tried to hold him up, his weight dragged her down with him as he fell to his knee's "What's wrong? What can I do?"

"I…" Riku almost choked trying to talk "I don't think… anything can be done" his hand clutched his chest as he fell back to lie on the ground.

"No!" Mayu cried out in desperation "You can't die now, you just can't, what about the prophecy?"

"All will work itself out" Riku answered calmly before another pain wracked his chest making him cry out loudly. He then smiled gently at her "What… will be… will be…"

"I know but…" Mayu stopped, she could hear voices "Help" she called looking around trying to find out where the speakers were "Somebody help me!"

--

"It's quite quiet up here today" Hinata looked around her admiring the view from halfway up the Tor, they had barely seen anyone the entire day which was odd considering the perfect weather they had experienced, they'd sat at the top and shared their food with Naruto complimenting everything that had been made making Hinata flush red much to the amusement of her sister. They were currently making their way down the grassy hill with Hanabi walking behind them.

Hinata smiled back at Hanabi who was walking very slowly, all three of them were tired by this point but Hanabi was justifiably exhausted as she'd been up since about six in the morning. They'd run around playing games in the afternoon and for a brief while Hinata had experienced what it was like to be completely carefree, it had almost been like a family day out only she and Naruto had been the parental figures. Still she didn't really mind that, as Hanabi trailed behind them Naruto kept Hinata in a constant fit of giggles as he subject her to his own version of why the Tor had been important to early man and it had more to do with the shape of the hill than anything else.

"Help!" the panicked voice caught their attention, exchanging glances Naruto and Hinata turned looking around to find where the voice had come from.

"Over there" Hinata pointed in the right direction and began to run towards the gate separating the two fields, Naruto looked in the direction she had pointed in and followed yelling to Hanabi.

They reached the gate at the same time and went through, seeing the older man lying on the ground Naruto pulled out his phone and began to dial for help. Hinata ran forward and dropped to her knees next to the man's prone body.

"Sir? What's wrong?" He said nothing just staring up at her in amazement, Hinata turned to the girl kneeling on the other side of him and asked "What's his name and what were his symptoms?"

"Riku, I don't know he just seemed hurt and then fell." Mayu told her wiping tears from her eyes "He can't die, he just can't!"

"Try not to worry" Hinata told the girl as encouragingly as possible "Riku?" looking down Hinata smiled gently at the old man "Does your chest feel tight? Is it hard to breathe?" she got no response and so took his hand in hers "Squeeze my hand if your chest feels tight…" after a few seconds she felt the pressure on her hand increase for a moment. "Alright, how about breathing, is it hard?" once more he responded silently and Hinata nodded knowingly, Naruto came up behind her his phone against his ear "It's probably a heart attack"

"A heart attack we think" Naruto spoke down the phone "Yes… the field near the southern entrance… alright, I have my phone on me and we'll keep a look out." Closing his phone Naruto knelt beside Hinata and smiled down at the old man "Help is on it's way, you'll be fine"

"No" Riku said his voice rough and rasping "I won't" Mayu gave him a shocked look before following his line of vision up to look at Naruto and Hinata properly, her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the broad shouldered blonde boy, his bright blue eyes were filled with concern. Her gaze travelled to look at the woman beside him, her eyes were so distinctively different from anyone's Mayu had ever seen in real life before. Pale lilac eyes with no discernable pupils or whites, long midnight hair that moved gently in the breeze. She saw now what Riku had meant and why, right here, right now, she was going to lose her mentor.

"Don't say that" Hinata whispered rubbing the old mans hand with her thumb as it remained clasped in hers "The NHS aren't so bad!" she gave him an encouraging smile

Riku managed a choking laugh as he looked up at the young woman "You truly are she."

"Um… thank you?" Hinata replied frowning a little, she turned to give Naruto a confused look, one which he returned.

"Like being in the sunshine around that smile. She is special this one" Riku said looking at Naruto as he spoke

"Hinata?" Naruto asked looking at the girl beside him

"Yes" he gave a wheezing cough his eyes flickering from Hinata's face to Naruto's "She has a kind heart… a happy smile. She is precious, you must love her always"

"I know" Naruto nodded in agreement "I will"

"You must be brave… must watch… over her"

"You shouldn't be talking" Hinata admonished gently her face flaming red "save your strength."

"Protect" Riku reiterated his eyes boring into Naruto's "Protect…her"

"I will" Naruto agreed looking at the blushing Hinata "I promise to always watch over her."

"That is good" Riku winced as pain lanced through his chest once more

"Please Riku" Mayu pleaded staring at the old man "It can't be…"

"It is, my time has come" he smiled softly "Tell Yui… tell…" his voice died and his lips moved wordlessly

"Tell her you love her" Mayu whispered half reading his lips half guessing his thoughts, he nodded mouthing the words 'Always did' before his head fell to one side and the hand clasped in Hinata's became limp.

"Hinata you and Hanabi go wait by the road for the ambulance" Naruto suggested "I'll stay here."

"Alright" Hinata nodded standing and walking towards Hanabi, her sister had remained at the gate watching the tragic scene with wide fearful eyes.

"Is he dead?" Hanabi asked her mouth down turned in sorrow

"Yes, he was an old man Hanabi, it was probably his time." The younger girl nodded but still looked troubled. "Come on Hanabi, I think I hear sirens"

Back with Naruto Mayu sat weeping over the body of her tribe's leader, Naruto searched the picnic bag and pulled out the packet of napkins Hinata had packed. He held one out to the girl and she took it gratefully "Thanks" she muttered before wiping her eyes and blowing her nose.

"Are you… alright?" Naruto asked as carefully as he could

"I just… I'm going to miss him" Mayu smile at the blonde "I guess you can empathise, huh?"

"A little" he agreed giving her a warm smile "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, I'm sorry for yours… I hope" she paused biting her lip and working out how to question Naruto without seeming to pry "I hope my grandfather didn't embarrass you and your friend, she was blushing pretty badly"

"She's rather prone to that"

"Any reason why"

"I think I'm her first boyfriend… it's tricky."

"I can imagine" Mayu nodded but her mind was going crazy with connections, in every lifetime the warrior Prince had always been the Chosen ones first love. She looked towards the road where the noise of sirens were getting louder

"Just a little too late" Naruto said with a frown

"They were never going to make it in time" Mayu told him smiling a wry smile "It was his time, he knew it too." Whilst Naruto was distracted Mayu removed a string from Riku's neck, as he stood up to greet Hinata she moved as well stumbling a little and forcing him to reach over the body of Riku and hold her steady

"Are you OK?" he asked his eyes worried for her

"Yeah, my foot's asleep that's all"

Helping her to steady herself Naruto never noticed the item slipped into his pocket.

--

Opening up the paper Kabuto smirked to himself as he read about the goings on in the Namikaze's company. He had known straight away who Orochimaru was and his interest had remained fixed on him, he was currently being quoted as the future of Namikaze's success plans but Kabuto know that the future held something more for the dark haired man. He knew he was going to have trouble getting in touch with Orochimaru and even more trouble convincing him of his true purpose in life, most people would find what Kabuto had to say laughable but according to his notes he needed to wait for Orochimaru to have a brush with death first. It occurred to Kabuto that it was completely right that Orochimaru was now controlling Naruto's empire, he was also very suspicious of the 'accident' that had befallen Naruto's parents. If he didn't know better he could have sworn that Orochimaru already knew of his destiny and was acting accordingly.

A voice above him told him to secure his seatbelt and place his table into and upright position. He did so unconcernedly before looking left out of the window, he watched as people scurried around on the runways making sure that the plane was secure and could barely stop himself from laughing.

He currently had a small knife hidden as part of his shoe and a gun securely placed in his backpack. He couldn't believe how easy it had been to smuggle such equipment on board a plane, considering how careful everyone was supposed to be about the possible threats on an aircraft.

The flight was easy, they hit very little turbulence on the way over and Kabuto used the time to conduct more research on his future leader. According to the notes left behind Orochimaru had a supremacy complex and craved power. It was this desire for control that had made the last Kabuto so irreplaceable, he had pandered to the mans ego, he had followed him completely subserviently, it was a good thing that Kabuto so many depths to which he would sink in order to get what he wanted. From the sounds of things, the next stage of his work after he had found all the artefacts as to contact Orochimaru and try to convince him to join with him in killing the chosen one, and maybe the warrior prince if things went well, although keeping that damn brat alive might be fun.

According to the notes Naruto had twice kicked Kabuto's ass and humiliated him to the point where the previous Kabuto had rather interesting plans when it came to torture for the young man.

To be honest Kabuto wasn't sure that you could remove all those organs and still manage to keep the boy alive for that long but maybe it be worth doing an experiment with him.

Just to see.

--

They had been asked to speak with the police about what they had seen, the death seemed to be due to natural causes but the police were double checking it all. They had been less inclined to care when they saw that the old man was just a gypsy but Naruto's presence had made them instantly more interested. He was really well, the death of his parents had been more than usually suspicious but having the boy involved in a death made them concerned. They ended up spending quite a long time at the police station and Hanabi had dozed off when they left, they were driven home and Naruto insisted on carrying Hanabi into the house and up to her room. Once he came down he fixed Hinata with a concerned look.

"Are you Ok?" Naruto asked keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"I'm alright" she shrugged and gave him a small smile "but... that man, it was like he knew me, us."

"I know, it was… weird." There was no better way to say it "But I meant what I said."

Hinata flushed and stared down at her feet "Ok" she said very quietly, he smiled at her shyness and then wrapped an arm around her causing her blush even redder.

"I really like you but I'm a bit worried you'll pass out in a second if I get too much closer so" he pressed a kiss on the top of her head and released her. "Next time we have a date lets make it just us, no sister and no guys dropping dead… I'll see you at school" and with that he left her house closing the door behind him, he then got into the awaiting car and it drove away.

Frozen in her living room Hinata clutched her hands to her chest trying to control her breathing, he had wrapped his arms around her, he had kissed her… ok not properly but damn near closer to it than she had ever been before. Her knees were trembling so she lowered herself into her chair. "That was a date?" she whispered curiously, she could barely believe it… according to all movies she had seen and books she had read nothing they had done that day constituted as date material.

Man she was glad her father had been in bed when they returned home, asides from anything else it would have been embarrassing to have had to deal with that in front of Naruto. Biting her lip she wondered who she could talk to about this. She had no girlfriends and the last thing she wanted to talk to her younger sister about was her first possible relationship… damn it. At times like this a girl really needed her mother… or an aunt.

Picking up the phone Hinata dialled a familiar number, she was nervous as the phone rang, she so often rejected help from her family financially that's he was unsure what her aunt would say when she appealed to her emotionally.

"_Hello?"_

"Neji?" Hinata questioned easily recognising the voice on the other end of the line

"_Yeah… who's this?"_

"It's Hinata… I was wondering if I could speak to auntie"

"_Sure thing" _there was a silence and muffled voices until finally a light voice on the other end of the phone spoke up

"_Hinata how lovely to hear from you…"_ lowering her voice her aunt then questioned _"is everything alright?"_

"Yeah… fine, tell uncle and Neji not to worry"

"_She's fine boys, go back and watch television_" again there was muffled voices and movements until finally auntie started to speak again _"Now, how can I help you, has Hanabi asked about something again?"_

"No, that's all fine, she's satisfied that she knows where babies comes from and she thinks it's disgusting."

"_Ah we all think that for a while, especially you… so, why did you call?"_

"Well… I think I may have a boyfriend."

* * *

Not exactly a cliff hanger here but not every chapter end will have you grip the edge of your seat. Still I like this end, it's kind of light and it tells you something about the rest of Hinata's family.

Soon you will learn more about Naruto's family too!!

Please


	23. A dream

I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Lying in bed Naruto didn't bother to change and put on his pyjamas, he just collapsed onto the mattress and kicked off his shoes. Man today had been weird, it had started off great, he'd loved every moment he'd spent with Hinata, she had the most amazing laugh, he'd tried to be as funny as he could in order to make her laugh as often as possible. He smiled to himself, he'd acted like a total kid today and he hadn't had more fun in a very long time.

He hoped that the young girl they'd helped would be OK, she'd seemed broken hearted at the old man's death but as the paramedics attempted resuscitation she'd told them not to bother. She was rather attractive really, not as nice as Hinata he made sure to remind himself, but despite her prettiness there had been a hard edge to her, almost as though she was mistreated somehow or grown up in a tough environment. He'd seen that before, kids who have a hard time at home, sometimes it was parents being tough on them about studies, other times it was abuse plain and simple, but it was the same any way, they all got that look, something sharp in their eyes like boxers before a match.

He decided to reflect on some of the more happy thoughts from today.

Rolling to one side and wrapping his arms up around his pillow he sighed contentedly, he'd kissed her, he'd been dying to do that since the second time he'd seen her… he'd kind of wanted to the first time as well but he'd been too angry to think like that at the time.

His eyes began to close and he wondered if Hinata was already asleep, she was so cute with her light blush, her short dark hair, light eyes, big heavy jacket and odd habit of poking her fingers together…

Short hair? Big heavy jacket? Poking her fingers together?

Since when did she do that? Or look like that?

Staring at the girl sitting next to him Naruto frowned "Hinata?" his voice sounded odd, the girl in question jumped nervously and turned to face him… now that he looked at her she seemed younger, more twelve than her actual sixteen.

"N-N-Naruto-kun" the girl in question turned bright red and refused to look at him.

Stretching an arm out to her Naruto was surprised by the appearance of his own arm… it was orange, since when did he wear orange?

Not that there was anything wrong with the colour it was just a little… bright. Looking down at his chest he was surprised to see that he was wearing a bright orange jacket and trousers. Raising one eyebrow he wondered what Gok Wan would say about this particular fashion statement.

"N-Naruto-kun?" the soft voice made him smile, he looked up at her.

"Hinata" he smiled at her, he took brief note of the room they were in, it was some sort of class room, there were people all around dressed in odd clothing and with really strange hairstyles.

"You can copy my test if you want to" Hinata quietly offered with a shy smile and another nervous finger poking gesture

He looked at the sheet of paper in front of her and then glanced back to his own desk where a similar sheet lay. Looking down at the paper he knew that he wouldn't be able to answer any of the questions… in fact some of them made no sense whatsoever…. Ok all of them made no sense whatsoever, the only thing he could write correctly on the paper was his name and that was already done. What the hell were Kunai? And chakra was something hippy weirdoes believed in right? Although he had heard some countries thought it was a valid medication but... as a fighting tactic. He really needed help right now.

Turning to look at Hinata he was about to respond in positive when a weapon went hurtling over his head and into a desk behind him and not one, but three people were disqualified from the test. Man he was glad none his normal teachers were allowed to carry weaponry, he seriously doubted he'd have ever survived school if they had.

"I'm OK" he told Hinata with a grin "I don't wanna get you in any trouble."

She cocked her head to one side before nodding and turning back to her own paper where she was doodling on the bottom of the sheet, all her questions were filled in but Naruto knew he couldn't cheat without being seen and he really didn't want to risk one of those knives aimed at the desk. Someone might miss his desk and accidently hit him.

He sat in his seat stressing over the fact that he couldn't fill the paper in until his eye caught Hinata's paper again… it couldn't be coincidence that she was drawing little love hearts around a face with spiky hair and a wide grin.

Smiling Naruto looked back down at his paper, all of a sudden he wasn't so worried.

(00000)

"Mayu?" the dark haired girl buried her face in her arms shutting out the intrusive voices. "Please sweetheart, talk to us?" Her parents kept trying to draw her out of her depression. Her family had been contacted almost immediately and the entire tribe started the mourning process, it would be days before things went anywhere near normal again but no matter what Mayu didn't care. She ached inside, he had known it was coming, he had realised it the moment that the chosen one had knelt beside him, and she had known it too. Looking at Naruto and Hinata she had known exactly who they were, it was like looking at the ancient portraits they had of them.

"Mayu" the imperative voice that now spoke made her look up. It was his tone that made her react, his demanding quality caused her to respond no matter how much she wished she could remain wallowing in self pity.

"Please Naoki leave her alone she's very upset…"

"It's alright mother" Mayu's response was immediate; she looked up at the new tribal leader and stood to attention "Master Naoki. There must be a lot you wish to know."

"We were told that there were others with you."

"I have made contact with both the chosen one and warrior prince. The chosen one's sister was there as well."

"When we went to see the body and pick up his personal affects, we noticed that something was missing."

"I… I placed the necklace into the warrior prince's pocket."

"Without explaining to him what it meant?"

"You reckon that whilst standing over Riku's dead body I should have told him, by the way, this is something that you had in a past life, I think you should have it. He'd have thought I was insane. This way it's in his possession and he'll soon believe us. We just need to take our time on this."

"You speak with authority on this?" there was a trace of mockery in Naoki's voice as he spoke to the young woman but she set her jaw and stared defiantly at him

"I do because I have seen. The two of them are close, they care for each other and at the same time they are serious people. They are calm and collected and yet think of each other in times of stress. He will need training but before he will come to us he needs to be convinced, you know what that necklace has on it, you know in a short time he will know his fate, you also know that so far the Oracle has not found the necessary items with which to resurrect his master. He will come to us, we will train him."

"You are sure of this?"

"I am" Mayu spoke with determination that impressed the old man, he nodded.

"Very well, now get ready we need to prepare for when he gets in contact with us."

(0000)

It was a good thing that Naruto never minded standing out in the crowd. He was the only person in the Tai Kwon Do class that had neither outfit nor belt. He wore black tracksuit trousers and an orange t-shirt, he had joined in the warm up exercises and was now being kitted out to join in the sparring. He watched with some trepidation as pads were fastened onto his arms and legs, just how dangerous was this sparring going to be?

"Um guys...? I'm really not sure I should join in with this." he smiled nervously "I could just watch"

"Then there would be an odd number" Angus pointed out "and I would have to sit out too."

"Just relax. You're teamed up with Angus as the two of you already know each other, he's well trained, I can trust him not to hurt you."

Naruto nodded wanting to make a joke about why others weren't trustworthy but the tutor was a deadly serious type of guy who probably wouldn't have appreciated it. He squared up against Angus feeling nervous.

"Ready?" Angus asked a small smile on his face, he too had pulled on the sparring gear but he looked a lot more comfortable in them than Naruto did. "Look I promise that I'll go easy on you." He then held up his hands and moved his feet slightly apart.

"How kind of you" Naruto held up his hands in an stance similar to him, he then shifted his shoulders slightly instinctively feeling that movement and fighting would be easier like this.

After only a few seconds Angus leapt forward, his hand aiming for Naruto's shoulder, without a second thought Naruto grabbed Angus's hand and aimed a blow to his side. Angus was hit and pivoting on one foot aimed a kick at Naruto's lower leg, he landed the hit but instantly regretted it as Naruto, his grip firm on Angus's arm threw him spinning to the floor.

"Whoa" unharmed thanks to his extra padding Angus looked up at Naruto in total shock "I thought you'd never done this before?"

"I haven't... at least, I don't think I have" Naruto leaned down and helped his friend to his feet "Sorry about that."

"No…it's no problem, looks like you're a natural." The blonde haired boy laughed as he shook his arms "Want to try a few more stances?"

"Uh... sure" Naruto nodded turning to face his friend, for the first time in ages he felt at home, this sport, this way of fighting just felt right, he had only ever felt like this when he was fencing, he chuckled to himself, his mother had always said that he was a born fighter, maybe, just maybe she'd been right.

He ducked every hit, made kicks that he would have thought impossible before. He managed to throw Angus to the floor five times in the ten minutes they sparred for and he himself received not one hit.

"You were amazing today" Naruto's friends were stunned at the speed with which he had learned Tae Kwon Do, in the sparring he managed to avoid every hit aimed at him and his own jabs were precise, sharp. It was as if he had been training in martial arts all his life.

"It was fun" Naruto said with a grin "I can't believe how much fun it actually was"

"Fun for you maybe" Angus said jokingly rubbing his jaw

"Yeah I'm really sorry about that" Naruto winced when he remembered how his fist had connected with his friend's face.

"I've had worse. I'm just surprised that you've never done this before."

"It was all sort of… instinct" Naruto told them feeling a little embarrassed at all the attention he was getting "Like I had done it before only, I know I haven't."

"Might be in your genes or something" Michael shrugged it off before turning to Angus and asking "So... you do the maths homework yet?"

The conversation then turned making Naruto feel relieved, he had too much to think about these days without his friends acting weird around him. He hadn't even told them about the guy he and Hinata had tried to help, of course if he did then he'd have to tell them about Hinata and that was a conversation he wasn't sure how to have, was Hinata even allowed to date him? And what the old guy had said was odd, the bit about Hinata's smile could be dismissed and so could the 'kind heart' but then asking Naruto to protect her, to watch over her? For all he knew they could have been strangers. And why would Hinata need protecting… "Sorry What?" Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by his friends trying to get his attention

"We wanted to know if you'd come again next week?" Angus repeated

"Sure" he agreed "I'd like that. By the way did any of you get that dumb geography thing done yet?" turning his thoughts onto easier subjects Naruto continued walking with his friends as they headed back to their dorms.

When he got back to his room Naruto threw his bag filled with training clothes towards the wash basket and dropped down onto his bed kicking off his shoes as he did so. He lay looking up at the ceiling and try as he might he couldn't get the events of yesterday out of his mind. If only there was someone he could talk to. At times like these he would normally have turned to his father but for obvious reasons… Naruto stopped himself from thinking anymore, he sat up determined not to go along that route again. Unfortunately his eyes were already tingling and he had to sniff quickly, rooting through his pockets he ignored all the junk that fell out on to the floor and used the tissue he unearthed to blow his nose and wipe his eyes. He wasn't going to cry again, he'd embarrassed himself enough when he'd first lost his parents, he wasn't about to do it again.

Reaching down to the ground Naruto leaned to pick up the items he had dropped, the two coins and scrap of paper didn't surprise him but there was one thing he wasn't expecting. On a long black cord a delicate green stone hung between two silver balls. He frowned at the necklace unable to think of where it might have come from. He'd never seen it before in his life. Lying on the bed he lifted it up letting the light hit it sending odd glimmers of light around the room.

He wondered if it was Hinata's, she'd borrowed his jacket briefly the day before. Lifting the necklace over his head Naruto decided to seek her out tomorrow to ask her about it.

He looked forward to seeing her tomorrow, the memory of the dream he'd had the other night made him smile, he wished he and Hinata had been friends that young, she had been very sweet in it, he was willing to bet that she had been exactly like that. Maybe she had some old photos from when she was a kid, would it be weird to ask about that?

He could see her again, her short hair, her odd clothing… and she was standing in a battle stance like they'd done at Tai Kwon Do today… talk about life influencing your dreams. He was almost amused… right up until the point where Hinata went flying through the air.

"Hinata" Naruto watched with horror filled eyes as a young Hinata was beaten repeatedly by a young man of similar looks. The boy fighting her looked like a brother of some sort and he just kept hitting Hinata, all the time sneering at her weakness. The injustice of it all rose up in him and he shouted down to her, he yelled words of encouragement desperate for her to win, to fight back and prove herself to this idiot she was facing. She turned to look up at him her eyes filled with hurt and pain.

As they stared at each other he watched her expression change, he saw her eyes become determined as though a fire had been lit in her.

Turning back to her opponent she dropped into a battle stance and then the two of them were fighting again. She seemed stronger now, faster, he was really begging to believe that she could win until… the fight stopped, Hinata seemed unable to move and soon her opponent was running at her his palm out. Naruto could feel the murdering intent coming from and realised that if he made the hit he would lose her… reaching out Naruto began to yell

"Hinata!"

Thump

Crash

"Ow" Naruto sat up in bed, looking at his knuckles he was stunned at how painful they felt, looking around he saw that the lamp that usually stood on his bedside table had fallen to the floor. In his restless sleep he had obviously knocked the damn thing over and man had it hurt his hand.

His mind still fuzzy with sleep he rubbed his eyes, this was getting a little weird now. That dream had been horrible, watching her being hurt like that had made him angry, he'd wanted to go down there and kick that guys ass, why hadn't he? Why had he cheered her on? He should have gone down there and fight at her side… yet he had known he wasn't meant to, that for some reason Hinata had to fight that fight alone.

Lying down again Naruto rolled onto his side, he'd worry about it more later, right now he could still fit in thirty minutes of sleep.

(00000)

Hinata's Sunday had seemed slow and dull compared to her Saturday with Naruto. She and Hanabi had the weekly shop to do and after that homework and household chores followed. All through this her father would sit staring at the television screen, he would occasionally get up to get something he wanted or to use the bathroom but other than that he was like a dead man.

Still she encouraged Hanabi to give him a goodnight kiss before she went up to bed. Hanabi did so with a loving smile before turning and doing the same for Hinata. Breaking their embrace Hinata smiled as the young girl danced up the stairs looking forward to the next day of school, she loved her younger sister dearly but as soon as she was safely out of sight Hinata's smile faded and she stared down in distress. A young person like herself was not ready to shoulder the burdens and restrictions she found herself enduring. Naruto had said to her that she should seek help, that it was going to harm her if she spent all her time devoted to her family. She did feel so very tired at times, still if it weren't for her job she'd never have met Naruto. Picking up her schoolbag she set her mind to her algebra homework and an essay on Macbeth.

As she sat charting the dismal descent of Lady Macbeth Hilary tried to keep her attention on her work, she had never been totally enamoured by the play so pretending to care about it when she had a lot more on her mind was hard. Her aunt had been sweet and helpful, she had asked her questions about Naruto and given her advice as best she could.

Still Hinata herself had a lot of questions, Naruto was a nice guy but she felt nervous around him. He was a lot more suave than she wanted to give him credit for and she wondered if the lines he used on her had been used on girls before. But he wasn't all lines… he had made her laugh so much yesterday that her stomach muscles had felt strained, he was funny and the stories he told were apparently all true… though she wasn't quite sure how much to believe about his current guardian and the headmistress of the school she worked at… Tsunade didn't seem like a gambler.

Hinata was distracted by the noise of her father walking up the stairs, she hadn't noticed the television being turned off. She listened to him as he walked around upstairs heading first for the bathroom and then for his bedroom, he paused momentarily at Hanabi's door before continuing to his own bed.

Hinata breathed a small sigh of relief and then returned to her work… frowning she wondered when she'd started doodling love hearts all over her notebook.

* * *

My apologies for shortness and lateness, I'm so busy right now working studying and trying to find a place to live for next year. Being a student is a lot tougher than people realise!

Please R&R


	24. A new development

Wow, I knew the chapter was short but seriously rubbish though the chapter was did it really deserve no reviews? Well this one is short too so I won't hold my breath.

I do not own Naruto

* * *

With an air of dismissal Orochimaru looked down on the older man pleading with him, the worker had been a loyal employee of Minato Namikaze but this was not the time of Minato any longer. This was the reign of Orochimaru and he would only have workers that he trusted to be loyal to his word and his word alone.

Mr Taylor, a longstanding employee in the Namikaze organisation was considered almost a constant to people within the company. He had been here when Minato's father had started it up as a small business and continued when Minato himself took over and expanded it to almost monopolistic proportions. He was the faithful retainer, the kind of character a longstanding butler or valet would have had in days gone by. He was honest and never put his own pleasure above another's… he had to go.

"But I've worked here for going on forty years sir!"

Anyone that questioned his actions and business decisions were to be cast aside and the snivelling wretch in front of him had proven himself to be disloyal. He had actually had the gall to double check on an investment Orochimaru had made, the new boss had, known it wasn't the safest investment ever but the losses would be minimal if it failed and the gains substantial… by minimal he meant about 1000 job losses and by substantial he meant a few billion most of which would belong to himself.

Ok so the deal looked to create the job losses more than it did the money but it had no real affect on him.

"I am in charge of this company, true I am only looking after it for that… for Naruto the true heir, and I cannot make any large alterations to the business as a whole but until he comes of age I am in control here."

"Sir my concerns were for the job security…"

"Those are my concerns now." Cutting the man off Orochimaru stood up drawing himself to his full height he stared down at the man in front of him "You are fired, you're decision to undermine me and suspicions that have been raised as to your honesty gives me full rights to not only fire you but to demand a complete audit of your entire earnings whilst you have been here, as a result all your assets will be frozen, have fun explaining that to your wife… especially when it comes out combined with the allegations of your unfaithfulness"

"What?" bemused now the older man looked almost faint

"You'll soon see" Orochimaru told him with a smile "Let's just say…. The day you decided to cross me, it was probably the worst day of your life."

(000)

Hinata was in Naruto's thoughts constantly, it was almost annoying, at night he dreamt of her but the situations they found themselves in were odd, unbelievable (walking on water was something confined to the bible and comic books in his mind), and always about ninjas. What was up with that?

Still he enjoyed the time they did spend together, he'd sneak off to see her once she had finished work, he liked the way she was always so pleased to see him and she did blush when they welcomed each other especially as he usually managed to get a sneaky kiss in.

His thoughts were interrupted as the phone in his pocket began to buzz, pulling it out he smiled at the name displayed and flipped it open

"Hey you old pervert!"

"Naruto this could have been someone borrowing my phone, I don't like to think that you're telling the entire world that I'm a perv."

"You're an old guy that writes erotica, I'm pretty sure that counts, anyway where you calling from?"

"Believe it or not I'm back in the country. I'm in London acquiring a research assessment. I figured you could come up and see me this weekend."

"Oh… Yeah sure!" Naruto couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that his current plans were going to have to be put off but he did want to see his godfather "Sounds good"

"Great I'll have a car pick you up Friday night and drop you off Sunday evening"

"Cool" Naruto agreed "but you'll have to get Tsunade to OK it."

"Not a problem, the luscious Tsunade will never…" Naruto flipped his phone closed as Jiraiya began to wax lyrical about his head teacher. It was bad enough hearing the lech go on about girls when he didn't know them but when he was likely to see the person the next day then it made it all a little awkward.

He'd meet with Hinata tonight and tell her that he couldn't see her this weekend and to pass his apologies on to Hanabi.

It was a shame really, he had been looking forward to seeing them both. He waited until after the evening meal was well over before hurrying down to hang out near the kitchens, a few of the teachers had caught him waiting around during the last week and he'd had to pretend that he was lost and trying to get his bearings, it had been humiliating to say the least looking like a total idiot especially to his PE teacher, he liked the guy and wanted to stay on his good side.

"Naruto!" Hinata's greeting surprised him, she was early tonight and he said so. Shifting her bike helmet under her arm she nodded "Yeah, the weathers been kind of bad tonight so they let me off sooner, usually I'd be offered a lift but no ones going my way."

"You're cycling in this?" Naruto looked out at the rain swept grounds.

"It's not so bad" She told him with a shy smile "I know the route like the back of my hand and I'm not on any main roads."

"Still…" Naruto looked out the window wishing he could help, he could drive, illegally yes, but if he could get to a car then…

"What are you plotting?" Hinata had her head tilted to one side in an inquisitive fashion

"Nothing too illegal" he replied with a shrug making her laugh and shake her head

"Then I should definitely go"

"Hey I'd never do anything to get you into trouble" He stopped her from leaving by taking her hand

"N-Naruto I have to go" leaning back she tried to take her hand from his hold but he wouldn't let her.

"Just a second Hinata, I just want to talk to you about something."

"Just talk?" she asked suspiciously a frown marring her features

"Absolutely" he nodded firmly, she gave him a shrewd stare before nodding and dropping her resistance, almost immediately Naruto had his arms around her and his lips on hers. She struggled briefly, surprised by his actions but soon enough she gave up allowing him to kiss and shyly responding in kind. "Ok" Naruto finally said as they broke apart, "I really do have something to talk to you about."

"Uh-huh?" Hinata was blinking owlishly her cheeks stained red.

"Well, my godfather is back in the country for a little while so I'm going to be spending this weekend with him if that's OK"

"Of course it's Ok"

"You're not mad at me for bailing on you?" he asked in surprise, from what he knew of girls if you cancelled on them there was usually a lot of drama because of it

"Naruto he's your godfather, of course you should go see him. We'll meet up another time."

"Hinata"

"Yes Naruto?"

"You're the greatest" and saying that Naruto swept her into another kiss, once more she flushed red but this time she made no attempt to pull away, she loved this, the feel of his hands in her hair, their bodies pressed so close together, her blush got even worse as her mind remained fixed on those facts. Finally Naruto ended the kiss and he smiled at the blushing maiden "You alright Hinata?"

"Uh… yes?" she sounded uncertain, Naruto grinned happily at her confusion

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" Hinata nodded determinedly, she wasn't going to let Naruto tease her over this, he already had that teasing glint in his eye. "I have to go now, I'll see you after the weekend"

"Alright" Naruto raised one hand and ran it through her hair one last time "After the weekend."

She moved away after that running down the corridor, she paused at the end to look back at him shyly. Naruto grinned and raised his hand to wave at her, she nodded before walking around the corner and away, their romance was almost Disney-like in it's sweetness but Naruto had no complaints, Hinata was sweet and there was no other way to describe her, if woodland creatures began singing and helping with the washing up Naruto wouldn't be at all surprised.

For herself Hinata walked down the corridors quickly hoping the increased breeze from her speed would cool her cheeks down. Her raging blush was embarrassing, how come she still got embarrassed whenever she kissed him? She was too sensitive to everything he did but that wasn't entirely her fault. She'd never even thought about having a boyfriend before, she hadn't even had other crushes, she hadn't had the time for them. Her schoolmates had gone crazy over actors and singers but she had never bothered with that, sure there was the occasional dreamy moment over someone in her favourite novels but other than that Hinata was as unaffected by romance as anyone could hope to be… until she met Naruto.

Pulling on her helmet Hinata wrapped her raincoat around herself and then stopped… looking over her left shoulder her eyes searched through the rain. She was so sure someone was watching her, she could feel someone's eyes on her. Shaking the feeling off Hinata swung one leg over onto her bike. As she cycled home at a somewhat slower speed than normal Hinata tried to keep her concentration on the roads and not Naruto, in doing so she made good time and thanks to the rain stopping halfway home she picked up Hanabi earlier than she expected.

"You're soaking!" Hanabi exclaimed as she ran into her sisters arms "Ew, now I'm all wet!"

Feeling unsympathetic after her long bike ride Hinata just laughed "Yeah well, look before you leap sweetie, you ready to go?" she gave a grateful wave to their neighbour as she walked back to her bike.

"Uh-huh" Hanabi grabbed a bag and coat and called her goodbyes through the doorway.

As she and Hanabi walked across the street and home Hinata paused looking around, it felt like someone was watching her. She saw no one but as this wasn't the first time she'd felt unseen eyes watching over her she found it harder to ignore. It made her fearful, she didn't like being watched at the best of times but this was very…

"What's wrong?" Hanabi questioned her head turning to look at the dark night, "What do you see?"

"Nothing" Hinata told her shaking off the nervous feeling she had "I just thought I heard a noise. Sounded like a cat or something." She smiled reassuringly at her younger sister, the last thing she wanted to do was worry her unnecessarily.

As she closed the door behind her Hinata was careful to put the chain on.

(000)

The next weekend, as planned, Naruto didn't meet up with Hinata. He really missed his father right now, he needed some fatherly advice and the only male father like figure he had in his life was Jiraiya the self proclaimed pervert. Naruto had a feeling that it was not gonna be a very productive meeting but who else could he turn to?

"Hey Kid!" Jiraiya welcomed his Godson with unfeigned pleasure as he entered the university, he had waited in the reception for him and they exchanged a masculine hug. They made their way straight to the lab, it was one of the more impressive work areas that Jiraiya had used in his time, usually he was on site and ended up using an ancient microscope in a tiny research facility. Here it had to be admitted that the old perv was in his element.

Along with samples Jiraiya was there to drop off his latest research before he went on another trip to Australia, this time he was apparently headed north to help look into the Cane Toads and he was quite willing to tell Naruto all about it, much to Naruto's displeasure. He was just beginning to detail how the toads population rise was affecting the local wildlife and how he planned to help when a pretty assistant came in to inform Jiraiya that his lecture was about to start. Jiraiya was ready to run off after her with a look on his face that made Naruto whine a little.

"I was hoping to talk to you about something important" Naruto pleaded with his guardian

"Naruto look I have somewhere I need to be, just wait here, I'll be an hour at the most. We've got all weekend together, you'll soon be sick of me… Ok?" Jiraiya got no response from Naruto so he moved closer to the boy and put his hands on his shoulders "OK?"

"Ok" Naruto agreed but when Jiraiya had left him alone in the lab he picked up one of the glass beakers and threw it across the empty laboratory in a rage.

"Feel better for that?"

Surprised Naruto jumped and looked around the room, he had thought he was alone, as he looked around he couldn't see anyone… "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"He heard you!" another, slightly more childish voice spoke sounding surprised.

The first voice spoke again "Don't be silly he can't have!"

"I did actually" Naruto called out looking around and hoping to find the source of the mysterious voices "I don't know where you are but I **can** hear you."

"Oh my god this is so cool" the second voice sounded excited but the first one hushed him

"Shut up, just shut up."

They were coming from over there, there were plenty of lab benches to hide under or behind, Naruto skirted around the edges of the lab keeping his eyes darting from the door to the windows not wanting whoever it was that had spoken to escape. He moved in the direction he thought he should be heading in, looking under tables as he moved, the lab seemed silent and he could have sworn he and Jiraiya had been alone when they'd spoken. Finally he reached the end table and looked underneath.

"Nothing!" looking under the table he frowned feeling disappointed and more than a little concerned "I'm hearing things" standing up he scanned the items on the table, perhaps there was a phone… no, all he could see were piles of notes, scores of pens and two little toads sitting in the middle of the their tank.

"This is worrying" he told the toads with a small smile "First I start having crazy dreams, then I start hearing weird things… and I still don't know how Hinata feels about all this." Sitting on a lab stool Naruto smiled down at the creatures, they stared up at him their large eyes watching him carefully "I'm so confused right now, I mean… I'm glad I've met Hinata, and I'm glad she and I get along so well but…" he sighed again "It's been so fast and it's a lot to take on…, dating Hinata means I have to be ready to accept the package, her, her sister and her crappy excuse for a father. The dreams aren't helping either, I don't like watching her get hurt or act so… nervous, I want to talk to her about it. But how can I tell her? She'll think I'm crazy…"

Looking down at his audience Naruto frowned "Right now **I** think I'm crazy. I'm so crazy that I am talking to frogs…" the larger amphibian made an annoyed noise "Sorry Toads, not frogs… but you gotta admit it's still kinda crazy. Maybe I'm the one that should be in a lab for study." The toad croaked in agreement making Naruto pause "M-maybe I'm not so crazy… can you… can you understand me?" he stared down at the amphibians leaning in closer and closer until "Yeah… I'm crazy. I need something to eat" Standing up Naruto turned and walked out he door.

As soon as the door slammed the smaller toad turned to the larger one "He did hear us then"

"So it would seem."

"I didn't know they could understand us."

"They can't, they haven't done so in years… centuries probably."

"We ought to return home and tell pa."

"Yes" there was along pause "I wonder though"

"What do you wonder?"

"I wonder if he is… never mind, we need to get back."

Standing at the vending machine Naruto sorted through his spare change, he had plenty, looking up at the machine he decided that instead of choosing what he wanted he'd just buy loads, inserting coin after coin he got himself a large selection of chocolate.

"Hey Naruto, all good to go?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded not really listening to the person questioning him, his mind was fixed on the weird voices he had heard before, where could they have been coming from?

"If you were paying attention Naruto you'd see one of my other godchildren decided to come for a visit today" as he spoke Jiraiya directed Naruto's attention down the corridor, immediately the blonde's face lit up and he shouted a welcome to the newcomer.

"Gaara!"

"Naruto!" the redhead grinned as his old friend pelted down the corridor towards him "It's good to see you."

"Yeah good to see you too!" Naruto agreed as he swept him into a hug totally ignoring the way he was pushed back embarrassedly by the hugged.

"Quit it!" Gaara complained as Naruto finally let him go "you know I don't like being hugged by you."

"Just me?" Naruto enquired a smirk on his lips "Gaara are your feelings for me getting to you again? Ow!" the bruise that would undoubtedly form on Naruto's arm would probably last for weeks. "What was that for?"

"For being an ass"

"Yeah well… I guess I deserved it" Naruto admitted with a shrug "But you're just so fun to tease!"

"Now who sounds like he just came out of the closet?" Gaara asked with an evil smile

"Shut up both of you" Jiraiya complained cuffing them both around the ear "and stop talking like that, I've had too many people come out to me in my life I don't want you two to do it now as well." Seeing their faces suddenly change he then amended with "Not that there's anything wrong with it, if you were… well. It'd be fine by me"

"Seriously Jiraiya after all the weird literature you've pushed onto us over the years I'm pretty sure you'd be the last person I'd tell" Gaara told him with Naruto nodding in agreement

"Besides" Naruto added "I've already got a girlfriend… sort of. Actually, that's kind of why I have to talk to you."

"Excellent, I shall divulge my advice to you two boys, I thought I'd take you to this great restaurant called Wagamama, they do a great Miso Ramen"

"Miso Ramen?" Naruto asked interestedly "I'm not sure I've had that before."

* * *

Yeah so Naruto talks to toads, the sage is being set for big things to come! Look people if this story is so crap that I get zero reviews on another chapter I'm gonna be broken hearted, I won't stop writing the fic but Come on, I know some of you read it. Even if you want to say you hate it at least tell me why!


	25. A strange meeting

I do not own Naruto

* * *

Back with his family Naruto felt more at home than he had in a long time, he and Gaara had always been close and the two of them often spent time ganging up on Jiraiya and teasing about his career choices.

"So who's the girl?" Gaara asked giving Naruto a speculative look, he had a silly smile on his face as he began to speak about his girlfriend.

"Her names Hinata, she works at the school"

"An older woman?" Jiraiya asked gleefully "A teacher? Ooh the student and the hot art teacher…"

"Art teacher where did that come from?" Naruto asked

"No you're right, a French teacher would be better…"

"I see where his next book's coming from." Gaara muttered resting his head on the table.

"No!" Naruto shook his head wondering why god had cursed him with Jiraiya as the only available father figure in his life "she's my age, she just works at the school in the evenings as a part time job."

"It could start in a lesson, she keeps a student back for extra tutelage" Gaara and Naruto exchanged a glance and nodded, standing they both then picked up their food and moved to another table.

"So what's her name?"

"Hinata... isn't it a lovely name? Gaara she's just amazing, beautiful and strong. She's so smart too, she just knows everything."

"You've fallen hard" Gaara was surprised, he'd never known Naruto to just fall for a girl, he'd always been very sure about the difference between crushes and love and there had never been a shortage of girls interested in either of them. From the sounds of it Naruto had actually fallen in love this time or at least fooled himself into thinking he was.

"You should have asked her to come up with you."

"That's the thing… she's got major responsibilities."

"So do you, you're head of a major company and you've always had a lot on your shoulders."

"Nothing like her, she's taking care of her sister and father constantly, she works because she has to or she and her sister would go without. She's been helping to look after her sister since she was five. She's had it really bad."

"You're thinking that maybe it's too much for you?"

"Maybe" Naruto agreed sadly "But here's the thing Gaara… just imagining not being with her hurts. I've never had that before."

"Have you though that maybe she'd the girl you are meant to be with, some people do meet at a very young age… look at your parents…." Gaara trailed off realising that he was on some very tricky ground "Sorry I didn't mean…"

"No, it's Ok. It's a good example, they were like twelve when they first met, Dad always said he fell in love with her straight away. I'm not sure if it's true… not like I can ask him now."

"It was true" the boys were joined by Jiraiya, he sat next to Naruto a small smile curving his lips "He was smitten straight away, she was in his class and that day he got home and all he could talk about was her, next day he asked her over to his house, they had fish fingers or something rubbish like that, it was obvious that she was just as crazy about him as he was of her."

Naruto grinned as he listened to the story, a lump rose up in his throat but it made him happy to hear about his parents, he never wanted for them to become a distant memory he wanted them to always be in his mind. It was something he and Hinata had often spoken about, how keeping your parents memory alive was important no matter if it hurt to do it.

"So I guess I could be in love with her"

"I wouldn't be surprised, it's a bit of a family tradition to fall for a girl whilst you're young and to remain that way forever. Your grandfather was five, of course they hated each other for years but still it was definitely a long running thing. So, Hinata… what does she look like?"

Both Gaara and Naruto rolled their eyes and concentrated on their noodles for a while. This stuff was really good Naruto decided, he must try the shrimp next… finally Naruto remembered something else he'd wanted to talk to his guardian about. "Jiraiya?"

"Yes m'boy?"

"Have you spoken to Orochimaru recently?"

"Not really no, I try to avoid him as much as I possibly can. Why do you ask?"

"I-I'm worried about the company, there have been some high up redundancies… only a few but I hear Taylor was fired due to misconduct on his part… I just find it so unlikely. He used to babysit me when mum came into the office" Naruto told Jiraiya nervously "I know that other than that Orochimaru seems to be doing a good job, I'm just… it was dads legacy, when he inherited it form his parents he worked so hard to get it really going and make it so successful, I remember him and mum talking about it all the time. They used to take me around and tell me that one day it would all be mine, I know none of us expected it to be so soon but I am technically responsible for all the people that work there."

"You want me to look in to it huh?" Jiraiya asked, he was feeling very proud of his god son right now, even thought the responsibility for his fathers compant had been taken on by someone else the boy still cared about the people that worked there.

"Yeah. Just to see what Orochimaru says about it all, I don't want to pry as I know I don't have half the business knowledge he has but…"

"I'll visit him before I leave, don't worry Naruto I'm sure he's working hard for the good of the company."

"I know. It's his livelihood just like it's everyone else's. Thanks though."

(+)

Cycling home Hinata allowed her mind to drift a little, she wished Naruto could spend time with her at the weekend but she was pleased for him all the same. He had told her all about his Godfather and it obviously meant a lot for him to be able to see him. She knew what it was like to have very little family and she was glad he had someone he could rely on. She cycled quickly down the road, she was running late tonight, the roads were in a bad condition due to the recent weather and the short cuts she might normally have considered were extremely muddy and would probably add tie onto her journey instead of take from it.

In her dreamy state she didn't notice the pothole in the road, her front wheel dipped into it and her bike went skidding to the side she cried out in pain as the right side of her body went scraping along the ground. She lay still for a moment after her fall regaining her breath and sense of balance. She sighed pushing her bike off her and slowly pulled herself to her feet, "Aw man that hurts" she rubbed the back of her head. She assessed the damage, her bike was scratched but there was no actual damage to the frame, she was worse off

than her bike. Her left wrist was badly damaged, her trousers were torn and her left leg was badly grazed and there was a jagged cut on her upper thigh.

She could see a couple of houses nearby but the windows were darkened and she really didn't want to wake anybody if they were sleeping. She did feel uneasy though, she was sure that there was someone else around here, but then she was probably over reacting, she'd been feeling that a lot recently

Pulling out her mobile phone Hinata was about to make a call when suddenly she was grabbed from behind, screaming she struggled with her captor, he just laughed throwing her to the ground and picking up the phone she had dropped in her panic. He looked down at her in a sickening way and Hinata felt a real need to cry, she had never felt so helpless. No matter what life had thrown at her before she had always been ready to face it calmly, now she was panicking, in a state of pain and fear as she lay in the wet muddy road.

Her attacker pulled back a fist and threw it forwards as if to punch her, she made a terrified sound and flinched back away from him. His fist never made contact, instead he just laughed at her fear kicking her bike a little as he sneered down at her.

"Give me your wallet" he demanded, nodding Hinata pulled out her purse, she was about to hand it over when a deep feeling of righteous fury overcame her. She didn't know where this inner strength was coming from and the more rational side of her seemed to be yelling at her to back down, to let him win and crawl away maybe without her pride or money but at least with her life. For some reason she ignored the rational side of her mind and began to push herself up into a sitting position.

"No" standing up she faced the man down "You're a sick weakling preying on someone in dismal circumstances, I'm not about to let you just take from me. You picked the wrong person here, because I'm a hell of a lot stronger than you think I am and I'm not about to let you steal from me."

He was offended but he continued to scoff at her "You looked pretty pathetic to me lying in the road like that, say what you want you're a hell of a lot weaker than me." He charged forward but it was as if his condescending words made her stronger, as he ran at her Hinata bent her knees and sent a leg flying out, she landed a kick on his jaw surprising them both.

He fell to the side clutching his face, she stared down at him ready to strike again if necessary, her eyes widened as her attacker backed off and getting to his feet made to run in the opposite direction, he tripped almost immediately, falling over something in the darkness in his haste to get away.

"Well that was a little too easy…Oh!" a hand dropped on her shoulder making her exclaim, turning she held her hands up ready for another fight, she was surprised when the newcomer held his hands up in defence and smiled disarmingly.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Hinata took in his appearance, he was dressed in a tracksuit and looked a little out of breath "I heard you scream and just came to see if you needed help"

"Oh…" breathing heavily due to her fright Hinata nodded at him "Well… I was going to call for a taxi. I'm not really in the right shape to cycle right now"

"I think an ambulance would be better but now I reckon the police should be involved." He sounded determined so she didn't bother to argue nodding obediently.

"God Twice in a week, they're gonna looove me" Hinata muttered as the man pulled out his own phone and began to dial. She sat down on the edge of the road and inspected the cut on her thigh, it wasn't deep but it stung like hell, she bit her lip and tried not to make a sound as she pulled gravel out of her leg. In the dark her phone lit up and buzzed on the ground, reaching forward she grabbed it, Hanabi was calling, she should have known. "Hey honey, what's up?"

"Why aren't you home yet?" her younger sisters voice panicked as she called down the phone.

"I… fell off my bike" Hinata told her deciding not to share too much with her "There's someone here, he called for an ambulance. I'll be fine. Can you put Jackie's mum on the phone?" Hinata had to quickly re-explain the situation once more leaving out the attempted mugging, and asked their neighbour to look after Hanabi for the night, as they spoke the ambulance's sirens approached, she told them repeatedly that she was alright and managed to convince their neighbour not to rush to the hospital to help her.

"I'll be fine" she told them "I may need stitches on my leg but I'll be back home tomorrow."

As she was lifted into the ambulance she smiled at her helper "Thank you again for coming to my aid"

"Not at all" he smiled but as soon as the ambulance doors were closed his smile dropped from his face. Taking out his own phone he dialled a number and lifted it to his ear "Hi… she's alright, bumped and bruised, I think we need to keep a better watch on her."

(+)

"Hey there" Jiraiya greeted Orochimaru as he entered the office

"Good day Jiraiya, I take it this isn't a social call"

"What makes you say that?" Jiraiya asked cheerfully

"The fact that you've never visited me at the office before."

"There's a first time for everything."

"Please just give up trying to convince me that you're here for my company. You're checking up on me, probably at your godson's insistence."

"Naruto's a smart kid, he's kept an eye on the news so he knows what's going on here."

"It's his company. He could easily ask himself instead of sending you to spy on me."

"He doesn't want you to think he's doubting you. He's just a kid Orochimaru, and he's a kid that just lost his parents. However you look at it you've got to recognise that he's not feeling confident right now."

"Well go back to your little charge and tell him that everything is fine and if he wants to know anything he can call me up to ask. From what I hear you're going out of the country for a while"

"Yeah, and that's something I want to talk to you about"

"Oh yes?"

"I'm not going back to New Zealand, someone's found some wreckage, they think it might give some clues as to where to look for Minato and Kushina's plane"

"And you're going to go over there and make sure it remains private?"

"Yeah, I don't want Naruto to get his hopes up, at this point there's no hope but I think a proper funeral would be good for him."

"So you'll be out of contact for a while?" Orochimaru's voice was calculating as he considered matters.

"A few months maybe, it depends how long it takes, I'll email when I can but I'm going to have to trust Naruto into yours and Tsunade's care."

"I see… don't worry Jiraiya, I'll watch over him." Orochimaru smiled at Jiraiya but it didn't have the comforting sensation that he obviously intended it to have, instead Jiraiya made a mental note to have Tsunade keep a closer watch on his godson whilst he was away.

(+)

Upon his return to school Naruto attended the Tai Kwon Do lessons with his friends and once more surprised both them and himself with his abilities. His teacher spoke to him about signing up to more advanced classes and he had decided to agree to it, he had intended on only taking the lessons as a way to get to know his friends better but he actually enjoyed the rush of the fight, he liked thinking through the fight strategically and working out where his opponent would be weakest and how to get around their abilities.

Angus who had been teamed up with him again had been impressed but told him he was starting to suspect that Naruto was lying about having zero experience. For himself Naruto was beginning to wonder whether or not he had once had lessons and just plain forgotten about it, it was the only thing he could think of that accounted for his skills.

That night when his eyes closed he was expecting to dream about Hinata again, it had happened every night for the past week and even over the weekend away with his family. Apparently he'd been calling out to her in his sleep and Gaara had whacked him around the head with a pillow only to receive no response. Naruto could remember every dream clearly, the latest one he had been facing an evil opponent and had got to the point where he could no longer fight, immediately Hinata had appeared before him ready to fight. She finally looked the right age, her hair was long but a lot less styled, her slim body was clothed in lilac and dark blue, she looked just like the Hinata he had met and fallen for. As he saw her standing over him he'd begged her to run, told her that she couldn't fight the opponent but apparently she didn't care, she was ready to die for him and all because she loved him.

Seeing her die in front of his eyes he had become filled with rage, he had felt bloodlust like never before and seconds later he had awoken to find himself in his hotel room, on the bed next to him the sleeping Gaara had his pillow over his head.

This time his dream was filled with blackness, he looked around in shock.

"Hello?" he called out nervously his head turning left to right as he tried to make something out, anything, a wall, looking down he saw that there was no floor… there was what looked like black water around his feet. Slowly a tiled floor became visible around his feet and light began to spread around him making the walls to a long corridor begin to form around him. Pipes snaked their way along the wall and he could hear a dripping noise up ahead, deciding to follow the noise Naruto walked along the corridor, he walked slowly, cautiously until finally he came up to a set of large metal gates swung wide open. Walking forward he touched the cold metal, his hand ran up the side of the gate until he found the texture beneath his fingers had changed, moving closer to the gate he found a small patch of ripped paper. I looked as through the paper had once had writing on it but it was no longer complete and it looked as though the paper had been burned through instead of merely ripped in two. Something wasn't right here, those gates were a prison, he was sure of it.

"Hello Naruto" the voice behind him made him start, turning to face the newcomer Naruto couldn't help but raise his fists ready to fight only to stop when he saw the figure before him…

"Dad?" it looked like his father, different clothes, and odd markings on his cheeks but it really looked like him.

"No" the blonde man shook his head and laughed "Though I've been told I look like him, only the eyes are different"

"Oh yeah" looking up into the mans eyes Naruto noticed that like himself this blonde had bright blue eyes, the only difference was that the other mans eyes were older, and they looked very tired "Should there be something behind these gates? I get this feeling…"

"Not anymore, there was once a great beast kept there, the most terrifying of all the demons in the world."

"There's no lock" Naruto stated

"There was, just a different type of lock."

"Right… a seal" Naruto turned to look at the gates again "Why am I here? And who exactly are you old man?"

"Old? I'm only twenty nine"

"Really you look a lot older"

"Yeah, I've been told that too" the blonde man ran a hand through his hair and leaning against the wall sank down to sit on the floor. On the opposite side of the corridor Naruto did the same thing. "Losing the love of your life can do that to you, you stop caring, you don't think about your health, you just think about the day you'll see her again."

It was a depressing conversation but Naruto found himself empathising with the man "Why do I feel like I know you?"

"Because you do" the older man smiled at him before taking out the necklace he wore around his neck "You do know why you have this right?"

"I…" Naruto reached down his pyjama shirt and pulled out the necklace around his neck "I keep meaning to find out who it belongs to then… forgetting" he didn't mind admitting his failing to this man, in fact he got the feeling that he could tell this man anything and he'd understand him.

"You, it belongs to you… I had hoped they'd explain a few things when they handed on the necklace but never mind. Naruto what I am about to say will seem strange but the dreams you've been having recently have something to do with it all."

"Why should I trust you… why do I trust you. I don't even know you"

"Yes you do Naruto, you see, I am you"

* * *

I know the end reveal wasn't a big deal for you guys but it was for Naruto! Short but this felt like the right stopping point for now.

Please R&R


	26. A look back

Hola! Just back from Spain and putting up a new chapter for you all. I am in rather a good mood at the moment, It's almost time for Spooks, Sons of Anarchy and NCIS to return to TV with new seasons and Futurama is back. Life could not get better… well I could own Naruto, then it would be amazing.

Just in case you didn't get it, I do not own Naruto

* * *

Staring up at the image of himself Naruto cracked up "Ok this is officially the weirdest dream of the week, even ninja's and stupid stuff like that doesn't compare to this. Let me guess, you're me from the future come to warn me of a terrible event that about to happen"

"Um.. close" the older Naruto told him "I'm from the past and I've come to warn you about something."

"You're from the past? What the hell does that mean, you aren't young enough to be from my past and what could someone from my past warn me about anyway?"

"I know it sounds stupid but I'm you from a past life, sort of… I'm a clone"

"Of course you are" Naruto nodded his head still laughing "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Look this is important, those dreams you've been having recently? Those aren't dreams, they are memories from a past life, a life where you were a ninja, they filtered through to you the moment you started wearing the necklace and appeared in your sleep to help ease you through this."

"Wow" Naruto frowned "That is super crazy, I am going to have to go along to the nearest hospital and asked them to take me away. You're insane! And as it's a dream, my dream, that must mean that I'm insane!"

"You're not insane, you're just unable to remember anything yet."

"No, no." Naruto shook his head and pointed and accusing finger at his older image "You stop talking, I don't like you talking, you're confusing me."

"I really was a dumb kid" the older Naruto shook his head "I've told you very simply what's going on and you act like I'm crazy. It's not my fault you didn't get it."

"Hey don't insult me…! That was insulting me right? when you said you were a dumb kid."

"Kind of, but I was more insulting both of us"

"Right… wait why am I continuing this?" Naruto shook his head "Why am I continuing to talk with you about this?"

"What else are you going to do till you wake up?"

"Good point" Naruto agreed good naturedly before sitting down opposite his 'older' counterpart "So, you're here to warn me about something?"

"It involves a man called Orochimaru"

"Ah, the freak" Naruto nodded sagely, he was beginning to understand now, obviously his worries about Orochimaru were stressing him out and were now causing him to have odd dreams, now this was all beginning to make sense "Do go on"

"You know Orochimaru?"

Deciding that he might as well play along Naruto decided to explain to… himself "Sure he runs my dads company till I'm old enough to take over, he freaks me out but he's a good business man apparently. My godfather has known him for years, I'll bet you know nothing about the perverted Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya?" the older blonde seemed surprised but then grinned "How is the old perv?"

"He's fine, just like normal, adult literature and toad research going on as normal."

"Sounds just like the guy I used to know as well" the past Naruto laughed with a grin "I wonder if he's another of the constants."

"Constants?"

"In every version of you life there will be several constants, Tsunade a scary woman with a severe fear of anyone knowing her real age, Orochimaru, a freak who looks a it girly but is completely ruthless, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro, friends who will help you, Mayu a kindly girl who will train you… I think she also likes you a little. Neji, Hiashi and Hanabi, Hinata's relatives, Hiashi can be a bit of a cruel bastard but he does love his daughters and then there's Hinata herself… she's just amazing."

"Ok this is seriously weird."

"You mean that I know all this?"

"No that my dream is giving people strange personality's, I know about all these people… with the exception of Mayu, I don't know her."

"You soon will, history tells us that she's usually there."

"Ok stop that!" Naruto demanded "This is too weird, I'm freaking out now." The clone Naruto watched as the current Naruto paced up and down shaking his head "Alright, I'm going to play along, I'll pretend that all this is real. Now what?"

"You need to believe it all Naruto" the clone shook his head sadly "I was kind of hoping you would have to see all this but it's important that you do not brush this off as just another weird dream" making strange sign language with his hands the taller Naruto suddenly thrust one hand out at Naruto and watched as he fell back and landed on his butt…

"What the hell d…" Naruto trailed off as his mind was suddenly filled with images, he clutched his head in pain lying on the ground. Through his mind the memories of another life assaulted his senses, sights, sounds and smells of the life of a ninja village consumed him as he began to run through the young life of Naruto from Konoha.

The clone watched as Naruto lay on the floor twitching, this had always been plan B, to actually make Naruto experience everything so that he would know everything that he had been through. In a way it was cruel, to make the young man feel all of the terrible things he'd suffered as a child but sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. Carefully he monitored the boys higher brain functions, this was the kind of procedure that could seriously damage a persons mind. Whilst he was at it he checked on the boy's chakra, it surprised him to see that though the boy did not have fully formed chakra pathways they were a lot more developed than he thought they would be. With some intense training he could be ready to fight in no time.

Suddenly there was a spike in said chakra, as Naruto's brain continued to process the information it began to affect his body, and it was bad. Without thinking twice the clone released the technique and watched as the young man came around panting heavily.

"Well that was interesting" Naruto said when he had finally managed to calm himself down "Was that all there was?"

"No, where did you get to?"

"She's dead" he said it bluntly but as he spoke tears began to fill his eyes "How could she do that to me?"

"Naruto that's not the important thing right now, you need to focus on…"

"Not important?" Naruto yelled up at the whiskered Naruto "I had what could quite possibly be described as the most shit life in the world and then, just as I get one small sliver of happiness she goes and fucking KILLS HERSELF!"

"You're angry."

"No kidding!"

"You need to calm down, if you wait a little while and rest than you'll be able to let me show you the rest of the memories then…"

"No!" pushing the clone away Naruto shook his head "I don't want anymore, I can't take anymore, I want to wake up, and maybe I know a way to do that" placing his hands together Naruto performed one of the more basic techniques "Release" in a swirl of colour the world he'd been in when discussing his past disappeared and he awoke to find himself alone in his bedroom. Ripping the necklace from his neck he placed an arm across his eyes and tried to stop himself from crying. It didn't work, tears came out with great heaving sobs as he mourned for the loss of what he and Hinata had. As he wept for the torture that had been his life as a young boy and what he was likely to have suffered once Hinata was gone from it again, he had felt the grief from that life and it was almost too much to bear.

How could she do that to him? It confused him, sure he understood on some level what her ultimate aim had been but it was so fucking selfish of her. Leaving him all alone again was quite possibly the worst thing she could have done to him at that point. To allow him to think he was going to be happy and then to just throw it all away making every single sacrifice they had made for her seem worthless. He refused to allow himself to see her side of it, there was no need, he was suffering, he was mourning. He didn't give a damn what she had to say for herself.

He hated her.

(0)

The media was going crazy over the changes in the Namikaze business, every time Orochimaru went online or opened a paper there would be something about himself.

Overall Orochimaru had seen to it that over seventeen people in prominent positions in the business had been fired. Each one had caused shock both within the company and in the world outside. News reports were speculating as to what had caused this huge change, had Orochimaru discovered a network working to undermine the management? Or was he just changing the way things worked in an highly unorthodox way?

Any of the men that caused problems for him found that their lives began to be affected in bad ways. Money disappeared from their accounts, illegal activities showed up on their permanent records. Orochimaru's reach stretched further than any of his employee's could ever know, further than most people could imagine, after all he was to all intents and purposes a legitimate business man.

Working his way through his emails Orochimaru paused, it was another one, another email advertising family research and of Form

The emails were always strange, some little archaeologist trying to get him in touch with his roots, it was strange to say the least but it didn't affect the day to day running of his life. He just sent the emails to his junk folder and ignored them

All was well in the world of Orchimaru, his bank accounts were growing, the business was on an even keel, Naruto had not been in touch as he'd expected and Jiraiya was far away unlikely to return for many months. No one was going to take away from his current enjoyment.

At the end of the bsiness day Orochimaru would follow the same schedule, the staff would leave and between their leaving and the cleaners arriving he would go around the offices downloading information from various computers onto a portsble hard drive. As with most great leades Orochimaru was a very supiscious man, he was constantly checking his employees computers for information thjat affected himself. He chose random computers every night and then would leave in a taxi making his way to his local pub. There he would eat and drink listening to all that went on around him, smiling at the plebs as he finished his food and walked out of the bar and on to his home.

Tonight though his standard timetable was to be his undoing…

Walking home through the dark streets Orochimaru did not notice the footsteps behind him, his mind swirling with thoughts and plans he didn't register the shadow that appeared to be following him. It wasn't until the shot was fired that he realised that there was anything untoward going on.

Grunting Orochimaru fell to his knees, looking down at his chest he could see the river of blood leaving his body. Behind him running steps told him he was being left alone, in the darkened street he fell onto his side unable to move or call for help.

(0)

Making his way towards Tsunade's office all Naruto could think of was how much he didn't want to see Hinata. His rational side reminded him that this Hinata had not really wronged him.

"Not yet anyway" he muttered under his breath

His anger had been palpable, during class none of the teachers had dared to call him for anything whether it was the ceaseless tapping of his pencil or just to answer a question. He felt like a caged animal just waiting for something, anything to break the lock and free his anger. Tsuande had obviously been informed of his tense behaviour and the fact that it was actually scaring some of the students and teachers. The messenger who'd asked him to go see her had been sent packing with a string of blistering insults following her, normally he'd feel bad about making her cry but he couldn't be bothered with weakness right now, that's what she was, crying like that, weak.

Hinata on the other hand had been looking forward to seeing Naruto ever since they parted only days ago, she had missed him. Hanabi had teased her mercilessly about it asking if Hinata's slightly dreamy attitude would be a permanent thing or if it was just happening because Naruto was away. She smiled happily to herself as she arrived at work, for once she was almost joyful to be there.

"Hinata, would you mind taking these to the office?" the head cook held out a sheaf of papers "I'm running behind"

"Of course"

Helpful as always Hinata pulled on her apron, took the papers, and began to walk quickly towards the head mistresses office. She hadn't told anyone of her accident and even Hanabi only knew the bare minimum, she never told them the truth of what had happened

"Hi Naruto!" Hinata smiled at him as she walked down the corridor, as she came closer she noticed that there was no matching smile on his face, in fact he looked positively unwell "Naruto? What is wrong?"

His hand clenched around the necklace Naruto glared at the young woman in front of him "How could you?" he asked his eyes filling up with tears "We had a chance then, how can I hope to succeed in this lifetime?"

"How could I what? What the hell are you talking about?" her pale eyes wide Hinata tilted her head to one side trying to read his expression, what she saw in his eyes shocked her, he was so full of anger, his rage was almost palpable. "Naruto, what is it that you think I have done?"

"Think? It is not what I think you have done! It is what you did. I don't understand Hinata"

"Well right now neither do I!" she exclaimed feeling hard done by "Please, explain it to me"

"No" Naruto spun around and walked away his rage getting the better of him, he stopped to punch the wall. He did again and again but Hinata ran forward clutching at his sleeve

"Don't! Please don't do that"

"Get off me" he spat the words at her before running from her not once looking back.

Choking Hinata let loose a small sob, raising her hand to her mouth she covered it trying to lock the sound of herself crying inside, hoping to stop herself from breaking down. She leaned back against the wall Naruto had punched and slid to the floor. Screwing up her eyes Hinata managed to stop herself from out and out weeping but a few hot tears still managed to trickle down her cheeks. She wiped them away furiously and scrubbed at her eyes with her apron until she could see clearly again. When she had stopped herself form crying she leaned to one side ready to get to her feet "Oh" pulling her hand back to her chest Hinata looked down at the floor. Lying on the mock wooden floor was a long silver chain with a light green gem attached to it. Picking up the chain she watched as two silver balls that she hadn't noticed before, slid down the chain and clinked softly against the gem.

She stared at it wonderingly before an image flashed in her mind, earlier when Naruto had been yelling at her he had a long silver chain dangling from his fist. He must have dropped it when he began hitting the wall.

She placed the necklace around her neck and sighed "Why are you so mad at me Naruto?"

(0)

Naruto marched out to the school field feeling angry, he knew that she was probably very confused right now but he just didn't care. He was angry, he was hurting and he was faced with the impossible challenge of killing a man. He had never liked Orochimaru but he had never even considered getting rid of him in such a way, it just wasn't done these days. Perhaps in medieval times he'd have felt different but to kill Orochimaru after the way he had been brought up…? No he couldn't do it.

Or could he? Another part of his mind was screaming for blood. He knew the man was evil or at least about to become evil and that he would be willing to destroy anyone's life if it meant keeping himself on top. Naruto felt as though he was developing multiple personalities. His new memories were causing him to see Orochimaru in a much darker light and he felt a need to fight more than he ever had before.

As he stood staring out to the fields surrounding the school Naruto saw two small figures standing staring at the school, they were far away but as he stood staring back at them one of his memories from ninja Naruto's life resurface, a memory of walking across a desert in search of his families tribe.

"Mayu" he muttered to himself then looking around he made his way toward the tall chain link fence enclosing the school, hooking his fingers onto the fence he climbed up. The barbed wire which would have before made him think twice was easily avoided with the aid of his denim jacket and in seconds he was dropping down on the other side. He fell to the ground with a thud but his body twisted instinctively making it a lot easier. He stood and with a last look back began to jog towards the figures on the hill.

* * *

Ok so Naruto is angry here, I'm not sure if I wrote this very well but I think his anger is justified in this and in his mind it makes sense for him to be upset with her despite the fact that she has no idea what's going on.

Also I think they've made Fry dumber in Futurama.

Please R&R


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